The Faculty of Arts has gained another department without actually adding a new one.

Confused? Don’t be. Earlier this year, the Archaeology and Anthropology department officially separated, following an overall trend in North American universities.

The separation stems from intellectual reasons and the natural growth of two units which have distinct academic and social cultures. Infrastructure needs were also considered by the University Senate which made the decision official this past March.

The process, which has taken several years to complete, was set in motion in 2006 by an academic program review panel. The panel, consisting of Professor Karen Butler, Department of Geography, Dr. Roy Carlson, Simon Fraser University, Dr. Peter Sinclair, Sociology, and Lawrence Taylor, National University of Ireland, worked intensively, meeting with staff, faculty and students and touring the department’s facilities before submitting their report to the then Dean of Arts Dr. Reeta Tremblay, now vice-president (academic) pro tempore. The review panel unanimously recommended the development of separate departments.

The report was then circulated to faculty and staff in the relevant program area and a complete review of the undergraduate curriculum was undertaken.

“This move is part of an intellectual evolution that is occurring throughout North America,” said Dr. Tremblay. “The tradition here (in North America) has been for anthropology to focus on the study of non-western and non-literate peoples and cultures. The advent of historical archaeology and the accumulated knowledge in sub-disciplines of anthropology (i.e. linguistics) has resulted in a very slender thread of common intellectual pursuits to bind the two sections.”

Dr. Tremblay goes on to point out that at Memorial, much of the work of the archaeology department centres on the province of Newfoundland and Labrador itself, whereas the focus of the anthropology department is on global issues of power, inequality and conflict.

Dr. Peter Pope, who previously was the head of the combined department, remains head of the Archaeology Department.

"The development of an independent department, with the recent appointment of three very promising young scholars (Dr. Mario Blaser, Dr. Vaughan Grimes and Dr. Oscar Moro) makes Memorial one of North America's key centres for archaeological training," said Dr. Pope.

Dr. Mark Tate has been named head of the Anthropology Department.

"Anthropology has a long and well-established history at Memorial University. Interdisciplinary connections in the areas of undergraduate and graduate teaching as well as research and publications have been integral to that history and will remain so in the future,” said Dr. Tate.

“Currently, anthropologists have ongoing collaborations with their colleagues in a range of disciplines including Sociology, Women's Studies, History and Folklore. Students at all levels, but especially our growing graduate student complement, can only benefit from the cross-fertilization of ideas between the disciplines."

Individual websites for each department have now been launched within the Faculty of Arts website (see www.mun.ca/anthro/ and www.mun.ca/archaeology/about/) and the current  academic calendar reflects these department changes.