Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Anthropologies

I was honored to be invited to contribute to Anthropologies, which focused on archaeology as a part of anthropology.  My short essay More than Strata and Sherds appears in the May issue.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Finish the damn B.A.

I've been away for a while.

My career as a "non-traditional" student ground to a halt after the Fall 2009 semester, when I seemed to be out of viable options.  Back in September, I blogged at the OAC about abandoning my goal of a Ph.D. and instead finding other ways to work as an anthropologist/archaeologist (I included links to some excellent Applied Masters programs in the U.S.).

Even though I have not taken a course for some time, I have involved myself by attending a conference and a few lectures, continuing to read papers that interest me, and staying in touch with a couple of my professors.

I had the great fortune to observe my 50th birthday last month.  The approach and arrival of this dubious celebration triggered a "last chance" attitude for me with regard to my continued involvement in anthropology, and I decided that any action was better than no action.  Here are my current plans and options:

  1. Finish the damn B.A.  No matter what I do, holding the degree is way better than trying to explain to a potential employer or graduate program that I have 30 or so credits hours in anthropology.  My academic advisor at ASU informed me that I could take SPA 201 and 202 at the community college and then simply apply for graduation.  I managed to find two four-week Spanish courses at Phoenix College that are completely online via Blackboard, and I'm already two weeks into the first one.  I should be able to graduate in August.
Hmm... so what is number 2?  Pursue a  Masters of some sort?  Get my hands dirty working for a local CRM firm part time, or volunteering with a group like SWAT?  Ok, it turns out I don't have a plan yet beyond #1.  No matter, finishing my first degree in Anthropology is a start.  I have a couple of ideas cooking that may be options, but I'll address those in a later post.