John Cherry

His teaching and research interests, and thus also his publications, are eclectic, and reflect his "mixed" background in Classics, Anthropology, and Archaeology, as well as educational training on both sides of the Atlantic, and archaeological fieldwork experience in Great Britain, the United States, Yugoslavia, Albania, Italy, southern Armenia, and (especially) Greece. Currently, he co-directs a diachronic survey project on Montserrat, in the Caribbean Lesser Antilles. He is principally a specialist in Aegean Prehistory, tempered by much wider interests in Mediterranean and European prehistory and archaeology. His fieldwork has almost exclusively revolved around regional survey and landscape studies, which inevitably implies an interest in the archeology of many periods. He has special interests in the emergence of complex societies, the archaeology of islands, archaeological theory, lithic analysis, the archaeology of the southern Caucasus, Caribbean archaeology, and in Alexander the Great and (particularly) his Nachleben.

The courses he has taught over the past 35 years have tended to be thematic, theoretical, or comparative, and they fall very broadly within Prehistoric and Classical archaeology in the Mediterranean, Classical Civilization, or Archaeological Theory. Aside from teaching in areas in which he is specialized, He wants to encourage an interest in the ancient world by offering appealing undergraduate courses in areas such as Greek Sport, Alexander the Great, and the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. At the upper division undergraduate and graduate level, he is particularly concerned that students are exposed to ethical and professional issues in archaeology, as well as gaining a sound understanding of historical and theoretical issues in archaeology.

An important aspect of his scholarly activities throughout his career has been editorial work. He co-edited the journal World Archaeology from 1988 until 1997, served as joint Book Reviews Editor for the American Journal of Archaeology between 1995 and 1999, and has been co-editor of the Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology since 1990. He sits on the editorial boards of several journals and monograph series, at the University of Michigan created the Kelsey Museum Publications series, and has established a new publication series (Joukowsky Institute Publications) under the auspices of the Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World.