If I were to be asked in a job interview about my experiences doing archaeology in Turkey, I would want my potential employer to know not only about the physical aspects of archaeology, but also what this experience has taught me about myself, being abroad, and working with others. When explaining my time in Turkey, I would explain how I was working with students from St. Olaf, undergraduate students from other parts of the U.S., graduate students, and Turkish students and volunteers. I think it is really important to encapsulate that St. Olaf was not alone in doing this work, as we are a predominantly white institution that has traveled to a Middle Eastern country to do work for the Turkish government, thus it is correct that St. Olaf (along with other American institutions and schools) should not be left alone to excavate the ancient city of Antiochia ad Cragum. When traveling abroad, I think it is good to be beware of a white savior complex. We are Americans excavating an ancient archaeological site on Turkish land. This is a place that I have no cultural, ethnic, or even emotional ties to. Because of all of this and more, I would emphasize the importances of practicing cultural relativism and being careful to not project any Eurocentric views onto a country that I am a guest in.
I do not foresee myself ever holding a position that would require physical labor ever again, but I would emphasize the intense work we do here every day. I have pushed my physical limits to an extent that I did not know were possible, but I have also learned so much simultaneously. Archaeology has taught me skills that I did not even know about before excavating, such as taking elevation of the unit, doing Munsell soil tests, differentiating between rocks, pottery, and bone, identifying courses in walls, etc. These skills may seem as though they are not the most transferable to a job that does not require any archaeology, but all of these skills require attention to detail, critical thinking skills, and collaboration with your unit members. Doing archaeological work does not seem like the most conventional summer work, and it is not, but it has deepened and exercised my marketable skills. One unexpected skill that I have gained while being here is increased confidence in my own opinion and abilities. When hypothesizing about a surprise feature in a unit or debating if something is a pottery shard or a rock, it is necessary to be able to form a logical opinion and to have the confidence to defend that stance. Doing so has also eased my fear of being wrong, as everyone here is wrong all the time about things like if that rock is really a rock of if it is a shard of pottery. Because of this, I’ve also started to see the beauty in being proven incorrect. There is nothing bad about being wrong, as it provides for a chance for yourself and others to learn even more.
I’ve been asked by many people in my life why I wanted to do an archeological dig and how it applies to my majors, Sociology/Anthropology and Political Science. If I were to be asked about this in a job interview, I would explain how I believe that an anthropological perspective is beneficial to any situation or experience, archaeology included. I had never been abroad before coming to Turkey, and going abroad alone is an extremely anthropological experience. Archaeology requires an anthropological outlook because, as previously touched on, being in a foreign country uncovering a civilization and culture that we are strangers to can be accompanied by personal biases. Analyzing this opportunity sociologically is also beneficial. Both sociology and anthropology require a level of stepping out of your own perspective that I think no other fields of study utilize in the same way that So/A does. This is especially interesting when analyzing different positionalities, which is inevitable in both the field of archaeology but also in any career path. This skill that So/An provides is applicable to not only being in Turkey and doing archaeological work here as a white student, but it is also applicable to any future job or career that I choose to step into.