The slave quarters at St. Mary's City, Maryland.

I am currently engaged in multiple research projects. My dissertation research will examine the material record of a slave plantation in St. Mary’s City, Maryland, built in 1840. I will be investigating whether or not the changes imposed by emancipation had a dramatic effect on the condition of African Americans on this plantation in the context of ideology and power. This research will be conducted under the guidance of my dissertation chair, Dr. Kenneth Lewis, and the Director of Research at Historic St. Mary’s City, Dr. Henry Miller. You can see a presentation on this research here. For research updates, please follow the blog category Brome Slave Quarters, and the twitter hash tag #TerrysDis.

For the past two years, I have also been serving as the Campus Archaeologist for the MSU Campus Archaeology Program. I have been engaged in multiple research projects developing a model of change during the first 100 years (1855-1955) of MSU’s history. This research has led to a deeper understanding of how landscape and material culture can be used to present a certain form of education, or ideology, to a group. Visit the Campus Archaeology Program website for more information regarding the program. Also, read the posts from the category Campus Archaeology Program for an idea as to what sort of research we were engaged in.

Field Experience:

I completed my field school in 2006 at Michigan State University on the Saints’ Rest Project. I have also spent time working on a survey project in Rome, Italy in 2003. I have worked with two field school’s at Historic St. Mary’s City, and I have also done some work on a prehistoric Phase II in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. My most extensive experience, however, has come from being Campus Archaeologist, where I have served as PI on numerous survey, Phase II, and Phase III projects.

Research Interests:

Historical Archaeology, Power, Gender, Class, Race, Plantation Studies, African Diaspora, Archaeology of Higher Education, Landscape Studies.

Education:

• PhD Candidate, Michigan State University, Anthropology
• B.A. Michigan State University, History, 2006
• B.A. Kalamazoo College, Classical Studies, 2004

Papers and Presentations: click to view recordings of the presentations

Professional Organizations:

• Society for Historical Archaeology
• Council for Northeast Historical Archaeology
• Michigan Archaeological Society

Research Grants and Fellowships:

In the News:

• Fall 2009, “MSU Archaeology Team’s Latest Find: 16,000-year-old sand dune”, MSUNews
• Fall 2009, “A Piece of MSU’s Historic First Building Unearthed”, MSUNews
• Fall 2009, Video, “Archaeology Program Unearths MSU History”, MSUNews