First Person: BAR—The Next Generation

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When our editor, Hershel Shanks, told me several months ago that he was going to take a two-month sabbatical to work on his autobiography and that I’d be writing the First Person for this issue of BAR, I was both excited and overwhelmed by the task of deciding what to write. Hershel suggested that I consider things that give me a different perspective from his. While that offered me a few options, I settled on our age difference and decided to discuss what I’ll call “my generation” in Biblical archaeology.

Okay, I’ll admit it: I am younger than BAR, which will celebrate 35 years of publication in 2010. But so are many of the students who work in the trenches every summer. They contribute energy and enthusiasm to the back-breaking work that produces the exciting and amazing finds ultimately analyzed and published by their professors. And, as our recent presidential election showed, our generation is active, engaged and can make quite an impact on society when we feel passionate about something.

When I tell friends or new acquaintances where I work, they all find the topic of Biblical archaeology fascinating. After all, we are the generation that grew up watching Indiana Jones movies and History Channel specials. So I have to ask myself: Why do so few young adults read BAR? In a recent reader survey, less than 7 percent of respondents told us they were 35 or younger, while 50 percent ranked in the 60+ category. Don’t get me wrong: We appreciate, respect and depend on every one of our readers and the distinguished mature scholars who have supported us for the past three-and-a-half decades, but where is my generation?

I know that many of us are interested in learning about the history of the land that produced the Bible and three major world religions—whether as a profession or a hobby—and that is our specialty here at BAR. But even as a student who focused on Biblical studies and archaeology in college, I had never heard of BAR until I applied here for a job.

Perhaps the transient lifestyle of college students and young adults doesn’t lend itself to magazine subscriptions, so that’s part of the reason we’ve been expanding our coverage on the Web (although nothing can completely replace the printed magazine, in my opinion). Our Web site (www.biblicalarchaeology.org) has exclusive e-features, breaking news and discussion forums. We also offer the option of buying each issue of BAR online or subscribing to the full archive in the BAS Library, not to mention our free weekly e-newsletters. And now you can even find BAR on Facebook, a popular social-networking Web site. Not only does the Internet allow us to share a variety of resources that we can’t fit in the magazine, but it is probably our best chance to reach a younger audience.

This issue of BAR inspired me to reach out to my generation. In addition to our usual collection of thoughtful articles and stimulating columns, we have our annual guide to excavations. Here you’ll find digs that are looking for volunteers, read about the experiences of some of our dig scholarship winners, and learn how excavations in Israel and Jordan are using the latest hi-tech tools. Now students interested in an exciting career in a ground-breaking scientific field can include Biblical archaeology on their list. And of course there’s even more on the Web.

So help us spread the word by sharing BAR with your children, grandchildren and students. E-mail our e-features to a friend or classmate, and sign up for our newsletters. Most important, let us know what you think. We want to hear from our younger readers, and we look forward to working with more of the rising stars of Biblical archaeology to keep BAR relevant and to report on the newest developments in the field. Whether you’re part of Generation X, the MTV Generation or the Internet Generation, I want to make sure we all don’t become BAR’s lost generation.

When our editor, Hershel Shanks, told me several months ago that he was going to take a two-month sabbatical to work on his autobiography and that I’d be writing the First Person for this issue of BAR, I was both excited and overwhelmed by the task of deciding what to write. Hershel suggested that I consider things that give me a different perspective from his. While that offered me a few options, I settled on our age difference and decided to discuss what I’ll call “my generation” in Biblical archaeology. Okay, I’ll admit it: I am younger than BAR, […]