Greetings! As another academic year winds down, we are celebrating graduations. But we are also gearing up for a busy summer. Students and faculty will soon disperse to pursue research and language study in places across the world.
On campus, the Campus Archaeology Program, directed by Dr. Lynne Goldstein, will run an archaeological field school this summer. Both the program and the field school reflect MSU’s commitment to understanding and preserving its own history, and both provide exciting opportunities for undergraduates and grad students to develop experience in research and data analysis. Meanwhile, Dr. Gabe Wrobel will lead both graduate and undergraduate students through a field school in archaeology and bioarchaeology in Belize, focusing on ancient Maya populations. While some grad students will travel to Korea, Ghana and Tanzania to pursue advanced study of Korean, Twi, and Swahili, others will travel to Taiwan, Italy, and the Middle East or across the US Midwest to explore opportunities for dissertation research and conduct preliminary studies.
The department will also offer a growing suite of online courses during the summer, which provide opportunities for undergraduate students to access and engage courses in a flexible format and opportunities for graduate students to develop online teaching skills, an increasingly important dimension of their teaching portfolios. In August, Drs. Ethan Watrall and Lynne Goldstein will lead an NEH Summer Institute on Digital Archaeology Method and Practice, reflecting the importance of Cultural Heritage Informatics as a new area of strength and focus within the department. I hope you will enjoy the opportunity to catch up with the work of current students, alumni, and faculty through the pages of this newsletter!