Toronto archaeology conference
lures 14 WMU student researchers
WMU anthropology students and faculty at the SHA conference
in the lobby of the historic Fairmont Royal York Hotel.
Photo taken by WMU graduate student
Andrew Robinson, official SHA photographer.
A seven-hour, January road trip landed 14 Western Michigan University students on the northern shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto, Canada to participate in the Conference on Historical and Underwater Archaeology with WMU anthropology professor Dr. Michael Nassaney.
The conference was sponsored by the Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA), the world’s largest professional organization dedicated to the study of the recent past, which provides opportunities for archaeologists from all over the world to network, share research results on topics of mutual interest, and visit significant local archaeological sites.
WMU anthropology graduate student and conference presenter Emily Powell attested to the importance of attending the SHA international conference. “Participating in a meeting of this caliber is not only a wonderful way to network with others who hold similar interests, but it enables us as students to become excited about what we do as archaeologists,” Powell said. “It prepares us for the job market and contributes to our own growing research goals.”
About 1,000 historical archaeologists attended this four-day international event in the opulent and grand Fairmont Royal York Hotel to present papers and posters on a wide range of topics, including 18th century French colonial material culture and the fur trade in New France—themes that attracted many of the WMU students involved in the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project. Fort St. Joseph served as a hub of commercial, religious, and military activity for a community of French, English, and Native peoples for nearly a century. It was discovered on the ground by WMU archaeologists in 1998 and is the focus of the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project, a partnership between WMU, the City of Niles, and other community groups.
Western Michigan’s contingent of fourteen undergraduate and graduate students made notable impressions at the conference, said Nassaney. Several WMU graduate students presented papers and posters on original research relating to the ongoing WMU-led excavations and analysis of Fort St. Joseph. Three WMU students, Stephanie Barrante, Tori Hawley, and Andrew Robinson, were recognized for their award-winning photographs from the fort project. The WMU group was also recognized for being the largest group of student volunteers from a single university at the event.
Andy Beaupré, a WMU graduate student and poster presenter, qualified the SHA conference as “the Superbowl” of historical archaeology and the opportunity to present research to the greater community of scholars “an enormous honor.”
Fellow anthropology student Ian Kerr echoed the importance of capitalizing on the professional networking and learning opportunities that international conferences like SHA provide.
“The learning environment present in Toronto was incredible,” Kerr said. “The collective breadth and depth of knowledge in conjunction with the plethora of professional developmental opportunities was incredibly useful to me as a first-year grad student.”
Nassaney said though the group found Toronto to be inviting and picturesque as the conference’s host city, the student archaeologists look forward to the 2010 SHA conference, which will be held at Amelia Island Plantation in “sunny Florida.” PARTICIPATING STUDENTS IN GROUP PHOTO AT TOP OF STORY top row (l-r): Meghan Cook, LisaMarie Malischke, Stephanie Barrante,
Ian Kerr, Andrew Beaupre, Victoria Hawley (undergrad), Andrew Zink,
Adam Johnson
bottom (l-r): Brendan Weaver (M.A., now a Ph.D. student at Vanderbilt),
Emily Powell, Dr. Michael Nassaney, William Walsh (undergrad), Amanda
Brooks, Erin Claussen
Digging into the archaeology of New France story—WMU International News
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