Each fall, students and professors return to campus with renewed energy for the year ahead. What brings them back? We asked faculty what excites them about the new academic year

Linfield Magazine Staff

English

Name not available

What Brings Them Back?

DigitalCommons@Linfield

Linfield Magazine Volume 5 Number 2 Fall 2008 Article 8 Fall 2008 What Brings Them Back? Linfield Magazine Staff Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/linfield_magazine Recommended Citation Linfield Magazine Staff (2008) "What Brings Them Back?," Linfield Magazine: Vol. 5 : No. 2 , Article 8. Available at: https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/linfield_magazine/vol5/iss2/8 This article is brought to you for free via open access, courtesy of DigitalCommons@Linfield. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@linfield.edu. 1 4   -   L  I  N  F  I  E  L  D    M  A  G  A  Z  I  N  E F  A  L  L    2  0  0  8   -   1 5 “Learning there’s nothing here is just as important because we can rule this area out,” Smith said. “Archaeol-ogy identifies what people leave, and there’s little here.”  However, there is evidence that China Camp exist-ed, even if the site wasn’t located this year. Two of the structures were moved in the 1950s to the site of the main farm and were used as a tool shed. Hatchet marks, indicat-ing the logs were hand-hewn, are clearly visible.  “We have learned some things, and we now know some of the right questions to ask and what to look for,” Smith said. “We know that at least two of the structures were picked up and moved here physically, so we don’t need to find timbers or stumps of timbers.”*** Craig Geffre ’11 kneels at the edge of one two-foot by two-foot plot and with his trowel, scrapes about a quarter of an inch of soil from the surface. He dumps the dirt into a screen positioned over a wheelbarrow and Jade Severson ’11 shakes the screen, looking for bits of glass or other debris. So far, in this unit, they have found a crumpled colander, a metal lid and a Dad’s Old Fash-ioned Root Beer bottle they estimate to be from the mid-20th century. Severson is learning as much about people as about dirt, she says with a laugh. But she is questioning what she previously thought about archaeology and the idea of re-constructing someone’s past based on what is left behind. “Is that ethical?” she asks. “It bothers me. I have problems with some of the ethnographic aspects of an-thropology and thought archaeology was a little more pristine in terms of judging people. I want to pursue this, even though I’m a little ambivalent. I’m interested in the philosophical aspects of archaeology. Is it ethical to try to reconstruct someone else’s past?”  The field school was almost a magical experience for Maguire, the place where he realized he finally had found a job he thinks he could enjoy the rest of his life. “Not only do I like what I’m doing, I’m good at it and it’s the kind of environment I want to be in,” he said. “We are working on this one idea, trying to find this Chinese immigrant village.” But it goes even deeper, he said. It is looking at what humans are like at a very basic level and a reminder that humans are very innovative.  “We are uncovering the past and seeing it through our own eyes,” he said. “You begin to think about things in a much different way.”– Mardi MilehamWhat brings them back?Each fall, students and professors return to campus with renewed energy for the year ahead. What brings them back? We asked faculty what excites them about the new academic year.Jill Timmons, professor of music since 1981 Returning to Linfield this fall is particularly exciting since we are now well established in our new music building. I have some excellent pianists beginning their studies at Linfield, several senior thesis and recital projects await, and we are resuming our Linfield Lively Arts series in the Delkin Re-cital Hall. It’s a stimulating and inspiring time to be at Linfield!Chris Keaveney, associate professor of Japanese since 1997 What excites me each academic year is meeting old friends and wel-coming new arrivals to Linfield. As a teacher, I find few things as exhila-rating as the heady mix of nervousness and excitement that I feel every semester when I walk into my classes for the first time. I began teaching the year that I received my undergraduate degree and thus my years have been shaped by the academic calendar since I was five. It is difficult to imagine a better rhythm according to which to live one’s life.Jana Taylor, professor of nursing since 1991 As I begin my 17th year teaching nursing at Linfield College, what sparks my passion is knowing that each student with whom I teach and learn will impact the lives of many others who need quality nursing care. This brings me deep gladness and a sense of fulfillment in my work. Making a lasting, positive difference in people’s lives is what brings me back each semester.Bob McCann, associate professor of education since 1994 Over each summer I am always thinking of new things to do in my courses, things I have learned from my summer reading, new activities to add, and I am excited to try those out. But especially, I get very excited about seeing the return of the students. I find it very stimulating. They come back with such energy; it really gives me a shot of adrenalin. And, of course, there is also the football.Kay Livesay, associate professor of psychology since 2003 What brings me back each year? The students. I look forward to teach-ing – it is my favorite part of my job. I like to do research, but teaching is my passion. I enjoy introducing cognitive psychology to a new group of stu-dents each year. I look forward to the challenge of making them as excited about cognitive psychology as I am.Craig Geffre ‘11, center, scoops dirt into a screen that Jade Severson ‘11 will sift through, looking for bits of glass or other debris.  William Cornett, adjunct professor of anthropology, right, offers advice and instruction on the proper way to scrape dirt away from artifacts they found in the plot and how to carefully uncover items they have found. The archaeology field school is designed to give students the understanding and skills that are needed to work on other digs.

https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1131&amp;context=linfield_magazine

What Brings Them Back?

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Name not available

DigitalCommons@Linfield