Why a Blog: an Introduction

As this is my first post, let me introduce why I started this blog...

 

I have worked most recently as the Assistant to the Curator for the Siegfried H. Horn Archaeological Museum on the campus of Andrews University, in Berrien Springs, MI, while completing a Masters of Divinity with an emphasis in Archaeology.  That museum is specifically interested in the times and lands directly corresponding to background settings of the New and Old Testaments (you can follow this link to view the website: http://www.andrews.edu/archaeology/museum/). The Institute of Archaeology there specializes in archaeology from Jordan, particularly two sites in the Madaba Plains Project (you can follow this link to view the website: http://www.madabaplains.org/).

 

It was a wonderful place to work and learn.  The atmosphere is that of a family with people from a wide variety of backgrounds, interests, and religions.  The Museum seeks to foster creativity, responsibility, and honesty in its effort to promote a supportive learning environment for staff and visitors alike.  I made many life-long friends during my time there.

 

I have been happy to discover that the Institute of Archaeology at University College London, while quite a lot bigger in size, staff, and students, also seeks to foster a family-type atmosphere for people, from an even wider variety of backgrounds, interests, and religions.  I chose UCL because of the reputation that the Institute of Archaeology has for research and also for its connection to the past.

 

UCL was the first non-Church (of England) run university in England making it the third university established in England (after Oxford and Cambridge).  It was the first to admit students regardless of their race, religion, or gender.  It was the first university to admit women on an equal basis with men.  This is probably why Amelia Edwards (famous champion of the preservation of Egyptian artifacts and sites) was so keen to provide in her will the means to establish a Chair of Egyptology at UCL recommending Sir William Matthews Flinders Petrie for that position. 

 

There is a large percentage of students who are female in the Institute of Archaeology.  In a class I am sitting in for (Managing Museums) I am one of only 5 men out of 55 students in the class.  In a class for MA Egyptian Archaeology students, I am one of 4 men out of 11 students.

 

In a recent Lead Table (that ranks - somehow - all the Universities in the world) UCL moved up from 7th (last year) to 4th overall.  That is 4th best University in the world!  In last year's orientation to International Students the Provost for Academics stated that from his experience he knew he was looking at future prime ministers and presidents of various countries in the audience.  I have never been in an educational institution where that was said of my classmates!

 

Students at UCL come from around 145 countries in the world, which is quite obvious when one walks across campus or sits down in a class.  (This diversity of ethnicities and origins is similar to that of Andrews University only, again, on a much grander scale.)  In that same Egyptian Archaeology class, there are students from Asia (I am not sure which ethnicity there), North America (USA and Canada), Europe (UK, Spain, Italy), and there may be others as I am not sure exactly where some of them are from (and there are only 11 of us in that class). 

 

This term I am being assessed for three classes: Themes, Thoughts, and Theory in World Archaeology: Foundations (a class for all archaeology students regardless of emphasis and is one of my core courses), Archaeology and Education (one of three optional classes that I will be taking this year), and Egyptian Archaeology: An Object-based Theoretical Approach (the second core course and one designed for Egyptian Archaeology students to experience and learn from real objects from the Petrie Museum's collection in class).

 

I am also sitting in on a few classes that I will not be assessed for but which can help to round out my
formal education here.  These are: Photography (a class that teaches us how to photograph objects/artifacts), Cultural Heritage (a class that discusses the whys and wherefores of culture and the role we take as heritage keepers), Managing Archaeological Sites (a class that educates us on methods of preserving sites), and Managing Museums (a class that teaches us the in’s and out’s of museum management).

 

It will be things I learn from these classes (usually) that I will discuss in this blog.  I will do this because it will help me as a form of review and it will also help me gain insights from those of you who read the blog and contribute to the discussions.

 

I start this blog due largely from growing pressure to do so by friends on Facebook.  It was their encouragement that caused me to finally be pushed over the edge into this mad world of blogs.  I hope the exercise will prove to be fruitful and interesting.

Without further ado, welcome to my blog.