YOUR SOCIETY IN A TIME OF PANDEMIC: INITIATIVES AND INNOVATION IN A DIGITAL WORLD.

PATRICIA GROENEWALD AND NIC WILTSHIRE.  13 April 2021.

Link to YouTube Live event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLCOXk2t6oo

Patricia Groenewald is a member of the S A Archaeological Society (SAAS) co-opted as Student Representative on the SAAS Council.  She is a PhD candidate in archaeology at the University of Cape Town and is well placed to interact with students in that department and in other related disciplines. Patricia believes the Society has an important role in the lives of archaeology students in offering informal interactions with guest speakers and other archaeologists and providing valuable archaeological literature via The Digging Stick and The South African Archaeological Bulletin which expose students to the fascinating research conducted in our region.

Patricia is always on the look-out for opportunities for students to engage with other archaeologists and interested members of the public.  In pre-COVID times students were able to meet up and engage with each other in person and many have fond memories of ‘ArchSoc’ visits to sites led by the enthusiastic archaeologists who excavated them. However, things have changed under lockdown and students are becoming used to doing things on-screen instead. This presents new opportunities and ways for students, especially those who were previously unable to join in-person activities and events, to take part. Patricia will present some of these student initiatives and ways in which ‘ArchSoc’ has been and would like to become more active in a virtual environment.

Nic Wiltshire will present a back office look at some of the tools that are being used to disseminate the digital versions of our publications and he will cover some of the administrative issues that members should be aware of in order to successfully renew their annual subscriptions and to receive their copies of the Digging Stick and the Bulletin.

Bios:

Patricia Groenewald is a PhD candidate in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Cape Town where she also completed her BSc Honours. She received her undergraduate education through the University of South Africa and in 2018 she completed her MSc in Archaeological Science at Durham University in the UK. Her research interests include bioarchaeology (specifically using isotopes to reconstruct the life histories of individuals), palaeoecology (including the use of isotopes in understanding past diets, climate and habitat variation), geoarchaeology (especially archaeological soil micromorphology), and materials analysis.

Nic Wiltshire is an archaeologist currently serving on the SAAS Council as the Honorary Treasurer and is responsible for assisting the Society with the budgets and preparation of the financials. He has been closely involved with a number of systems since taking office, particularly the online accounts system, the new mailing list application for newsletters and digital issues of the SAAB and Digging Stick and the YouTube Live presentations that were introduced after the Covid-19 lockdowns began in 2020.

Link to YouTube Live event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLCOXk2t6oo