CONTACT: Mary F. Wack, WSU Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, 509-335-8044, mwack@wsu.edu
PULLMAN, Wash.—Internationally renowned anthropologist Jeremy A. Sabloff will present “Archaeology Matters: The Relevance of Archaeology in the Modern World” Thursday, Oct. 6, at 5:00 p.m. in Todd Hall 276 on the Washington State University campus.
The free, public lecture is hosted by the Phi Beta Kappa’s Gamma of Washington chapter at WSU. Phi Beta Kappa is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honors organization.
“Dr. Sabloff’s deep understanding of ancient civilizations, and the rise of complex societies and cities, offers unique insights into how the past informs and influences the present, and we are honored to welcome him as a PBK Visiting Scholar to share his knowledge with our students,” said Mary F. Wack, WSU vice provost for undergraduate education and Gamma Chapter officer.
“He believes that archaeology’s long time perspective can provide understandings of huge global issues such as sustainability, resilience, and adaptation to changing ecological and cultural conditions,” added Tim Kohler, WSU Regents Professor and graduate coordinator of archaeology and evolutionary anthropology.
In addition to his lecture, Sabloff will visit WSU undergraduate anthropology and roots of contemporary issues/history classes, and deliver an anthropology colloquium to graduate students, said Andrew Duff, chair of anthropology.
Ancient Maya, Penn, Harvard, and Santa Fe
Sabloff has written or edited 21 books and monographs including some on his research specialty, Maya civilization. Among his books are The New Archeology and the Ancient Maya, Cities of Ancient Mexico, and Archaeology Matters. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Penn, where he became a Phi Beta Kappa member in 1963. His Ph.D. is from Harvard.
He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society, and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Society of Antiquaries (London), which honored him with its lifetime achievement award. This year, he received the Alfred Vincent Kidder Award for Eminence in the field of American Archaeology from the American Anthropological Association.
Sabloff is the Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Anthropology Emeritus and former director of the University of Pennsylvania Museum, from which he received the Lucy Wharton Drexel Medal. He recently retired as president of the Santa Fe Institute, where he continues as a member of the external faculty.
PBK Visiting Scholars
Since the national visiting scholarships program began in 1956, Phi Beta Kappa has sent 648 scholars on 5,288 two-day visits to universities to “contribute to the intellectual life of the institutions” by exchanging ideas with students and faculty. In academic year 2016-17, Sabloff is one of 15 men and women who will visit 110 colleges with PBK chapters.
WSU Gamma Chapter
The local PBK chapter was established in 1928, making it one of the first founded at a land-grant university. Only 10 percent of U.S. colleges have a PBK chapter, and members must be in the 10 percent of their class. New qualified members are initiated each spring at a special ceremony.
The Gamma Chapter accepts applications and makes scholarship awards each spring that cover full resident, in-state tuition plus fees at WSU Pullman. More information about the chapter and the upcoming scholarship application process is available on this website.