Each January, around 2,500 eager academics, students, and enthusiasts of archaeology descend upon an unsuspecting U.S. city for the Archaeological Institute of America’s annual meeting. The Archaeological Institute of America, or the AIA, as it is more commonly known, was founded in 1879 and remains North America’s largest and oldest society for Classical archaeologists. Today, the AIA has over 200,000 members, which now includes art historians, philologists, and other professionals who study ancient Mediterranean cultures, like the ancient Greeks or Romans. Before the annual meeting, the AIA’s board decides on a general theme for that year’s conference, and then members can submit their most recent work to be considered for a presentation during a session. In fact, being selected for a presentation at the AIA conference is a very prestigious honor in the field of Classical archaeology!

This year, the conference was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from Thursday, January 2nd, to Sunday, January 5th, 2025. The overarching theme was related to climate change and its impact on Classical archaeology. Philadelphia was an especially appropriate place for a gathering of archaeologists since the city is already famous among history buffs for spots like Independence Hall and the Penn Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. The most exciting part of the trip, however, was that UE’s Archaeology and Anthropology Department had a group in attendance for the very first time! Braving cross-country travel and bitter cold one. UE Archaeology professor and three students, including myself, survived the chaos of Philadelphia for a truly unforgettable experience.

The festivities opened on Thursday night with two back-to-back receptions, one for first-time conference attendees and the second for all members. Some participants came from academic institutions as far away as Canada, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands. Then, on Friday morning, everyone had to wake up bright-and-early to arrive at the first sessions by 8am. Presentations ran until 5pm on a diverse range of topics, including the art of Western Asia, the history of women in Roman archaeology, and the effects of climate change on Greek archaeological sites. The sessions continued through Saturday, with more topics like current research on prehistoric Greek and Italian sites, new discoveries in Pompeii, and advances in digital archaeology, just to name a few. According to UE student Jade Hindersman ’25, Saturday featured her favorite session of the conference, a presentation that focused on ethical practices in museums. Not only did Hindersman find the content fascinating, but she also witnessed an exciting and heated debate following the presentation. She recalled an impressive remark from an admired academic, Dr. Patty Gerstenblith of DePaul University, who said, “It is our duty as archaeological professionals to uphold the highest standards of ethics as possible, even if the law does not match up with those standards.” Saturday was also my favorite day at the conference because I attended various sessions on ancient Etruscan archaeology, my chosen specialty, and met some of the most respected experts in that discipline. Finally, Sunday marked the last day of the conference, but the day was still filled with sessions on topics as broad as ancient Mediterranean religions and Roman urbanism. 

Fortunately, the UE group did have some free time over the packed weekend when they could explore Philadelphia. Some of the group’s favorite spots for lunch included Honeygrow, a salad and stir-fry fusion place, and the Reading Terminal Market, which sold famous Philly cheesesteaks. While on an independent trip, UE student Paige Byington ’27 visited the Penn Museum and saw many famous Egyptian, Greek, and Roman artifacts. Byington particularly enjoyed seeing the Mesopotamian cylinder seals after hearing so much about them during her archaeology classes here at UE.

The most important insight that the UE group gained from their time at the AIA’s annual meeting was the various benefits that their experiences will now provide for a future career in archaeology. According to UE professor and attendee Dr. Rebekah McKay, undergraduate students who attend a professional conference can network with potential graduate school advisors and learn about the most up-to-date research, which is especially important in the field of archaeology where the rate of publishing data is infamously slow. Dr. McKay also stated that undergraduate students who choose to submit an abstract, poster, or paper for a presentation at a conference have the chance to receive critical feedback on their ideas. Of course, these benefits are not just limited to archaeology students alone. Many other disciplines in the humanities and the sciences have professional conferences that can provide rare and valuable opportunities for career advancement for undergraduate students that attend. Following the example of their success at this year’s AIA conference, the UE Archaeology group hopes that their positive collective experiences will help boost university and donor funding for future archaeology and non-archaeology undergraduates who wish to go to professional conferences, as well as encourage campus to hold more career fairs and networking opportunities for humanities students.