An introduction of sorts
In a vain attempt to appear as if i have something interesting to say, I begin this endeavor. While I have done other "blogs" before, they were mostly geared toward specific events, such as my wedding (has it been a year and a half already?!?).
This collection of words and postings should be something different as it is primarily a place for me to chronicle my procession to and through, graduate school for anthropology. This is mainly an exercise for myself, but if any other future or current students gain some sort of insight from the process, then so be it.
As of this writing I have been accepted into an MA/PhD program, to begin this fall. I am currently studying Cultural Anthropology (with a strong inkling towards ethnoarchaeology) , with a focus on the American school of thought (which, when you think about where I'm from makes sense).
The most common thing that I encounter when telling people what I study is "So, you want to dig things up?" And that's if they even have any idea what anthropology is. Most just give me a blank look, obviously expecting me to study something more "normal" like chemistry, accounting, or even art. Most people I meet just cannot grasp what anthropology is or what anthropologists do. Or, why it is important. In the past when presented with the "you want to dig stuff up" question I would have said "No!", but recently I have been reconsidering it.
I know that it seems a bit odd to be going into a graduate program with doubts as to the (specific) direction I want to take, but I do like the aspect of archaeology, especially social archaeology and ethnohistory. If, in grad school, I can find some way to tie my interests in current culture and archaeological history, then I will.
With that wishy-washy part out of the way, I plan to concentrate my research on an area somewhere in sub-Saharan Africa, but I have not decided on just where that is yet. I am most interested in the following topical areas: human rights, refugee situations, human interaction with their environment, religious practices, and conflict resolution. I firmly believe that within these areas I should be able to find something of interest to study in sub-Saharan Africa.
It has been a long and twisting road that has gotten me to this point, and I'm sure that what lies ahead will have it's fair share of twists and turns as well. During my undergraduate career, I was a non-traditional student, having returned to school after a long break. This put me in a position where I was 8-10 years older than many of my undergraduate classmates, and often almost as old as (or in some cases, older) than many of my professors. I believe this certainly afforded me a unique perspective on school and the subjects that I study. In the coming posts I will chronicle my adventures navigating that strange and mysterious land known as grad school...