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On Mon, 8 Sep 1997, Stephen A. Leslie added to the discussion:
>
> The question "Which department should paleontology be in?" seems to me
> largely an administrative one.
Yet it is important for those of us in academia, for the simple
question "what courses do you teach, Professor Paleontologist?"
Unless one is completely 'soft-money' (a horrible position in these
times), the 'administrative' question is NOT what one's research program
analyses, but rather 'what can you teach?'
Our enrollment is sufficiently low that I can only teach Invertebrate
Paleontology in alternate years, so the bulk of my university teaching
load comes from 'service' courses -- Historical Geology and Physical
Geology, with Stratigraphy and Oceanography for the 'upper-division'
Geology majors.
For the record, _I_ too started with a B.S. in Biological Sciences,
followed by a B.S. in Geology, and a Ph.D. in Oceanography, so I am
familiar with the 'what does one call oneself?' conundrum -- geologist,
paleobiologist, oceanographer.
I would be curious to know what Bill Shear, Una Smith, and other
paleontologists housed in Biology departments have as their teaching
assignments.
.---. Dr. Dean A. Dunn -- Home Page <http://sushi.st.usm.edu/~dadunn>
( | USM, P.O. Box 8506 E-mail: dean.dunn@usm.edu
)__*| Hattiesburg, MS 39406-8506 Tel: 601-266-4529
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