Students at the SHA Conference: A Preview Student-focused Activities

Good morning SHA members!

#SHA2016 is just around the corner, and the advance registration deadline has passed. Please note that registration rates have increased. Online registration is still available until Friday, December 18, 2015. To register online, please proceed to here.

Please note that if you are presenting a paper or poster, participating in a forum or acting as a discussant in a session, you must register at the full conference rate. Full-time students are encouraged to sign up to serve as volunteers during the conference and receive free conference registration. The volunteer form can be found on the SHA website at www.sha.org/conferences/ under the Registration tab. Please contact the SHA staff at hq@sha.org if you need assistance with your #SHA2016 Conference registration.

As we usher in the New Year celebrating the 50^th and 100^th anniversaries of the National Historic Preservation Act and National Park Service, respectively, let’s also give a cheer for students in the Society for Historical Archaeology. This year marks the 20^th year since the inception of the Academic and Professional Training Committee (APTC) Student Subcommittee (SSC)—and opportunities for student participation at the 2016 SHA Conference abound. The following details a schedule of student-focused activities outlined in the preliminary program.

Thursday

Kick off the conference bright and early with the APTC Student Subcommittee meeting from 7:45am to 8:45am in the Committee Room. The mission of the Subcommittee is to provide a gateway for student members into the greater SHA community; create and support opportunities for professional development of student members; serve as a platform for student concerns and mutual assistance; share information; foster mentoring between professionals, advanced students, and beginning students; and promote active participation in the Society. It is the best way to make new connections, participate in the SHA and gain leadership experience. At the meeting, students can get involved, voice concerns, suggest ideas, and organize events for next year’s conference – ALL STUDENTS WELCOME.

Student teams will face off in the Third Annual SHA Ethics Bowl, starting at 10:30am in the Ambassador Ballroom. Teams have a chance to win $500 donated by the Register for Professional Archaeologists or free registration at next year’s SHA conference by addressing realistic ethical dilemmas they may encounter in their future careers. The bowl is intended to foster both good-natured competition and camaraderie between students from many different backgrounds and universities. All are encouraged to attend this public event and cheer on the teams and student representatives in this competition. If you are interested in getting involved with the Ethics Bowl, please email SHAethicsbowl@gmail.com.

In between sessions, stick around the hotel and grab lunch with Dr. Stacey Camp from noon to 1:30pm at the roundtable luncheon, Data Sharing and Publishing for Students. In this informal setting, folks will discuss the pros, cons, and strategies of publishing in traditional formats as well as digital and open access data sharing. Note: all roundtable luncheons cost $30 and require registration in advance.

Rub elbows at the Past Presidents’ Student Reception at the Bird Cage Walk from 4:30pm to 6:00pm (no fee). This reception is for students and distinguished past presidents and is a great chance to talk directly with SHA’s leaders and other students. The mixer also provides complimentary soft drinks and snacks.

Saturday

This year’s student-organized collaboration between the Advisory Council for Underwater Archaeology (ACUA) and SHA explores the nuances of federal, state, and local cultural resource laws as well as discusses changing laws, lobbying, and organizational involvement in setting examples for protection. Underwater and terrestrial panelists from the United States and Canada will also discuss how students can engage in the future of heritage preservation and protection. Find out how you can get involved during, Looking to the Past for Our Future: Navigating the Cultural Resource “Law-scape” for Students and Recent Graduates, which will take place in the Ambassador Ballroom from 9:00am – 12:00pm.

Last, but not least, check out the fast-paced, fun format of the session My Research in a Nutshell – Powered by PechaKucha on Saturday starting at 1:30pm in the Forum Room. In the last few years a new type of presentation format reflecting the rhythm of our busy modern societies was created: the PechaKucha! In 2003, members of an architecture firm located in Tokyo, Japan, noticed that speakers tended to get lost in their communication, rendering a hard-to-follow and long presentation. The group thus decided not only to limit the time of the presentations but also the content. The basic rule is simple: each speaker must present their research in 20 images shown for 20 seconds for a total presentation time of 6 minutes and 40 seconds. Speakers must thus synthesize their idea and present it in a clear and concise way. Participants must share their idea, research, or project (at any stage of development) in 20 slides at 20 seconds per slide! As a collaborative forum between the APTC Student Subcommittee and the Public Education and Interpretation Committee, participants are encouraged to take this as an opportunity to practice and receive feedback on presenting research as you would to the public, share experiences and research pertaining to public archaeology approaches, and for public archaeology job preparation. Sign-up for this uniquely formatted session is open until January 6^th – to join the forum, email your name, topic, and contact information to pk.at.the.sha@gmail.com.

Double-check schedules and room locations at the conference as they may change.

Schedule at a glance:

Thursday