Dr. Deetz had introduced me to Glassie’s analysis of folk housing and other material culture anlaysis of the South. Glassie was influenced by Fred Kniffen who had been a professor at LSU until his death. The faculty at LSU’s department of Geography and Anthropology were all very liberal minded and supportive in their own way. However, I felt out of my element – so far from California and family – unlike other students I could not afford to go home during academic breaks. I promised myself to maintain high standards but that if I did not earn A’s the first semester I would not chastise myself for leaving, giving up – I gave myself an “out”. After all this was more than I aspired to, remaining in academia deferred payment of loans until the recession ended at which time I would find employment hopefully in archaeology – GIS was my marketing potential for any kind of job in any agency or public arena – I had a plan!
To my chagrin I earned A’s in all my courses, and must stick it out. I was so driven, that in just four years I had completed my doctorate, while others sat back on their laurels on research scholarships, fellowships and “daddy big bucks” – many did not graduate for 9 years while others fell off the radar – just long enough to develop some very bad habits. Chair of the department at the time was Dr. Davidson (curiously, all the male professors last names ended with “son” of somebody) said he did not know of anyone completing their program so quickly – I arrived Fall 1995 and left Spring 1998 to work on my dissertation in California – crunching the data and writing the thesis in between commutes to work in San Francisco. I’ll never forget his course on the Geography of Jimmie Buffet, yes Parrot heads, academia can be fun “Hanging from a High-Tide Tree”!
LSU was the perfect place for me to be. Although once again, reality deterred my plans – the professor I wanted to study GIS with was not available but then I got to work on the Louisiana Oil Spill Project, a GIS compilation of data for mitigation of oil spills on the Mississippi River and Gulf Coast – long before the Horizon oil spill – and similar to my work at the Coconino Forest in Flagstaff, I worked for the Department of Archaeology for the State of Louisiana automating spatial and tabular data of all archaeology sites within the state. A lifetime student of American landscapes through our many family moves and vacations (some of which were moves unbeknownst to us kids), I thought this would be a good fit for both my interest in archaeology and GIS. All the professors in LSU’s Geography and Anthropology school, and most of the students, impressed me greatly and I was fortunate to have Dr. Miles Richardson an inspirational anthropologist on my dissertation committee (d. 2011).
After taking Dr. McKillop’s class the Archaeology of Death, and the realization that my aspirations to work on an archaeological thesis on Mayan trade patterns was not feasible, due to monetary costs, lack of grant funding and my own time constraints. She convinced me to analyze the distribution and demise of Louisiana’s cemeteries, which could be completed without funding and in a timely manner. One of the major deterrents to completing a doctorate is completion of the dissertation – sometimes its personality conflicts, advisors who dictate use of their data to expand their own career, some students change their topic or their proposals are not defendable.
Justifiably, Dr. McKillop had trepidations of “handling” me as a doctoral candidate but she was relentless and consistent in her support of my efforts to that end. My colleagues in the doctoral program did not use automated systems to their advantage to expedite their progress through their dissertation defense. In fact, GIS is not a requirement for a degree in Geography which is a deficiency for most graduates seeking employment. I relied on GIS in constructing a massive database of 1200 cemeteries located on historic to current maps (app. 150 USGS quads with 3-5 historic editions) within a 90 kilometer radius of Baton Rouge, for which I visited about 600 and described their status as simply “In Use,” “In Stages of Abandonment,” “Closed,” “No Longer Visible on the Surface” (http://www.noladeadspace.com/pdfs/Bib_mapsGIS.pdf and http://www.worldcat.org/title/out-of-sight-out-of-mind-a-gis-study-of-changes-in-cemetery-locations-in-southeastern-louisiana-from-an-archaeological-and-geographical-perspective-1930-1997/oclc/43363924 ).
All but Dissertation (ABD) is all too common and you cannot check the box for “doctorate” but just didn’t finish on an application, i.e., for government employment. Furthermore, the pay scale difference between highest academic achievement of masters and doctorate is significant! On the other hand, if not employed in the profession within two years of graduating you may rapidly experience the diminishing returns, especially if you concede to teach part time in the “interim”. I was very fortunate, but also desperate which motivated me to seek eagerly pursue positions and promote myself. All I really wanted was to work for the Forest Service – but student loan debt loomed large. In the meantime, I was either over qualified and/or couldn’t get a minimum wage job working at Home Depot or Starbucks. And then it happened, within one week 4 job interviews, came back with an offer to hire, and I had just started to work for a fifth.
Next week: People are Strange when You Are a Stranger