WAC – The Big Day

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It’s finally arrived, the day of my session from way back when.  I had to butcher my paper down to almost nothing in the interest of time, as we’re overbooked, but it should be okay.  I’ll be busy enough trying to keep things running smoothly.

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I also have another presentation on the same day in a different session, so I’ll be a busy girl.  After this I will be able to enjoy the conference a bit more.  I’ve already met one of my fellow bloggers, Kenny Atchison, and was very happy to see another person with whom I’d only interacted digitally in the flesh.

On a terribly sad note, one of my session participants will not be joining us.  He was posted in South Africa, but had family in Zimbabwe, some of whom had become victims of political violence.  My thoughts go out to him and his family.  Words don’t really do the situation justice.

Presidio Miscellany

Cinzia, one of my fellow instructors for the Remixing El Presidio class, did a fun 3D model of the Presidio with Sketchup and Google Earth.  You can check it out here.

I’ve always found instructing rewarding, but this is a particularly fun class with great students who are really motivated.  It’s one of those rare instances where the students have started to take over the class and teach themselves and each other.  I’m excited to see the end results!

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I also had the chance to tour Lucasfilm yesterday.  I wasn’t allowed to take any photos, which was tragic, but I did get a photo of my pass.  I didn’t manage to retrieve the Holy Grail or the Ark of the Covenant, but I did see the tiny robots from batteries not included, and squealed with delight–something I promised myself I wouldn’t do.  I guess the 9 year old in me took over.

In other news, I’m hosting a World Archaeological Congress social networking night during the conference in Dublin, Ireland on Tuesday night at The Duke.  If you’re attending WAC this year, I hope to meet you!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=18862190735&ref=mf

One last note!  I haven’t had time to check out the new iphone G3 release, but apparently I have to get one, and not only for the added GPS:

Wha??

SAR Prize Entry

I just finished my entry for the SAR prize this year.  If our session gets chosen, we get to have a special seminar in New Mexico.  These seminars often yield publications and are great collaborative sessions, so it would be great to be able to go!  I reworked my WAC session (here’s the previous version) abstract a bit:

Archaeologists have been rapidly integrating new media technologies into their interpretive schemes through a variety of methods.  Virtual worlds, social networking websites, blogs, wikis, and digital photo mash-ups are becoming legitimate alternate ways to present archaeological information.  The greater availability of inexpensive equipment and software that is powerful and easy to use has provided a lower entry point for remixing photography, film, and databases into multimodal presentations and increased the potential for archaeologists to use these media to tell their own stories.  This, combined with the growing ubiquity of online, collaborative media platforms has allowed us to reach out to new audiences by integrating archaeology into a greater social sphere.   Archaeologists have built too many technological islands in the form of isolated websites, soon abandoned after the project ends.  While new media technologies do provide a venue for ongoing dialogue in a broader public context, what are the implications of this for archaeology?  In a conference that is fully engaged with questions regarding the future of archaeology, this session explores interpretive projects inspired by new media art and technology.  In this exploration we will discuss alternate narratives, collective actions and what it means to be an archaeologist in the digital age. Alternate forms of papers and presentations such as films or websites are welcome.

My entry was typeset by my friend Jesse, who does great design work.  It’s attached here, and you can see all of the other papers that are in the session.

Editing will get less excruciating someday, right?  Right?

WAC Facebook Announcement

I just posted this to the WAC group on Facebook and thought I’d share it more generally:

Hello,

We have had several CFPs for the upcoming World Archaeological Congress posted on our discussion board–I encourage you to check them out as the February 22 paper abstract deadline is fast approaching.  Submit your paper topics to:

http://www.sharpsands.com/wac_6_papers_new/wac6_submit_papers.php

We are having a Facebook meet-and-greet night, so stay tuned for the where and when!  If anyone in Dublin has a favorite pub nearby, please let me know.

We are also looking for local (and non-local) attendees who might be willing to twitter-blog their WAC experience.  Again, let me know.

One last thing–coordinating lodging and hotel suggestions are absolutely welcome topics for discussion on the facebook group.

See you in Dublin!

Colleen
WAC Social Networking Coordinator

It’s right in the middle of the field season, but what can you do?  Fly from Istanbul to Dublin and back again, I guess.  oof.

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