Dr. April M Beisaw
April M. Beisaw is an assistant professor of anthropology at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. She is on sabbatical this semester, Spring 2016, to start work on her third book - an archaeological examination of the New York City water system. Since 2012, April has been conducting surface survey of city-owned lands that are 40-80 miles away from the city. These lands have been obtained in order to ensure that Manhattan (and the rest of the city) has an ample supply of clean water. Beisaw is interested in how these land acquisitions have changed the communities whose water (and land) have been taken from them. She hopes this work can inform future water decisions for water-stressed places like Detroit, Michigan and the state of California. Her previous two books are Identifying and Interpreting Animal Bones: A Manual and The Archaeology of Institutional Life. Beisaw has also been studying the techniques of ghost hunters in the hopes of finding better ways of telling stories
