By Beverly Makhani, Undergraduate Education
PULLMAN, Wash. – Anthropologist Jeremy A. Sabloff will discuss how archaeology can make a difference in today’s world at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6, in Todd Hall 276 at Washington State University.
The free, public lecture is hosted by the Phi Beta Kappa (PBK) academic honor society chapter at WSU (https://universitycollege.wsu.edu/units/pbk/index.html). Since 1956, the society has sent 648 visiting scholars to universities. In 2016-17, Sabloff is one of 15 who will visit 110 institutions.
Sabloff has written or edited 21 books, including “Archaeology Matters.” It includes cases of archaeologists helping Peruvian farmers increase crop yields, aiding city planners in reducing landfills and guiding local communities in tourism development and water management.
Sabloff “believes that archaeology’s longtime perspective can provide understanding of huge global issues such as sustainability, resilience and adaptation to changing ecological and cultural conditions,” said Tim Kohler, WSU Regents professor and graduate coordinator of archaeology and evolutionary anthropology.
“His deep understanding of the rise of complex societies and cities offers unique insights into how the past informs and influences the present,” said Mary F. Wack, WSU vice provost for undergraduate education and PBK chapter officer.
Sabloff is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Association for the Advancement of Science and Society of Antiquaries (London), which honored him with its lifetime achievement award.
He is the Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Anthropology Emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania and recently retired as president of the Santa Fe Institute. He earned a bachelor’s degree at Penn, where he became a PBK member in 1963. His Ph.D. is from Harvard.
Contact:
Mary F. Wack, WSU vice provost for undergraduate education, 509-335-8044, mwack@wsu.edu
