Meet Our Faculty: Meredith Wismer

Dr. Meredith Wismer

Assistant Professor

Anthropology

School of Humanities and Social and Sciences

Courses she teaches:

World Prehistory (ANTH 1030); Intro to Archaeology (2030); Culture and the Human Experience (ANTH 1010)

Number of years teaching at SLCC:

I’m just starting out at SLCC but have lots of experience teaching anthropology courses at other institutions.

Undergraduate:

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Master’s:

University of Iowa

Doctorate:

PhD in anthropology, with an emphasis in archaeology, from the University of Iowa

Why working at SLCC matters:

I’m happy to be building my career at an institution that values student learning and that will support me to grow as an educator. A college degree can be an important gateway to a solid and rewarding career, and SLCC helps make this achievable for students coming from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. In my short time at the college I’m already impressed by the dedication and talent of my colleagues, and how excited students are to learn!

Greatest professional challenge:

Deciding where to focus my energy has been a challenge at different points in my professional career. One of the reasons I love anthropology is that it draws from different fields to offer diverse perspectives. It’s hard to be bored as an anthropologist, but that also means there are a lot of skills to develop and possible experiences to gain. As a student it was hard to navigate the right path when I wasn’t sure what kind of career I wanted to have (for instance, working in museums, cultural resource management, or teaching) and I felt pulled in a lot of different directions. Figuring out how to be strategic became easier as I narrowed down what kind of job I really wanted—being a professor at a teaching-focused institution! And of course, I get to look forward to continuing to develop new skills throughout the remainder of my career.

Greatest professional accomplishments:

I’m proud to have completed my dissertation research and earned my Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Iowa. My dissertation explored the shift from hunting and gathering to agriculture along the eastern edge of the Great Plains during the Woodland Period (ca. 800 B.C.-A.D. 1200); a time of profound change in technology, social organization, and lifestyle for ancient people. To understand the shift in people’s diets during this time period, I analyzed several animal bone collections coming from multiple archaeological sites across Western Iowa. In total, I collected data on over 22,000 animal bone fragments coming from a variety of species—it was a lot of work!

I’m also proud to have helped excavate the remains of a Neandertal individual at the site of Arcy-sur-Cure, in Bourgogne France. I didn’t discover the bone fragments myself, but—because of my reputation as a “clean” excavator—I was tasked with preparing them for photos before they were removed from the site. It was a proud moment early in my graduate career, getting to do work that isn’t often shared by colleagues!

Advice for students or others:

For students considering the field of archaeology: reach out to individuals who are doing work that interests you and those working at local cultural resource management firms. Ask about how they got started in their careers and if they know of any research opportunities you can get involved with. You’d be surprised how many opportunities might be available to you if you are willing to pay your own way and volunteer your labor—this certainly won’t pay the bills, but is a great way to get experience, see if you like doing archaeological research, and is certainly cheaper than paying for a field school if you aren’t yet sure what you want to do. This is something I wish I had done more when I was an undergraduate.

Future plans:

Being new to Utah, I’m really looking forward to getting to know more about the local archaeology and meeting new colleagues. I hope to get involved with local projects and apply my research skills to this part of the country.

Hobbies:

I’m a big fan of hiking and camping. I also enjoy knitting, spinning my own yarn, and up-cycling clothes and furniture.

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