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The Speakers Bureau is a directory of arctic researchers and experts that are available to visit organizations, communities or schools to give presentations. The directory contains names, addresses, science specialties, and presentation experience.
We encourage organizations and communities applying to the Arctic Visiting Speakers Series to use the Speakers Bureau to select a visiting speaker. If a particular subject or speaker is not listed, please contact Judy Fahnestock at avs [at] arcus [dot] org, for suggested speakers.
Bryan Gordon
About:
Gordon's research interests include arctic and sub-arctic archaeology; the relationships between ancient reindeer, caribou, and bison followers and their herds; scientific applications to past cultures; and the rise of Chinese civilization. Currently, he is heavily involved in new methods of dating and enhancing poorly preserved rock art (http://http-server.carleton.ca/~bgordon/Journal/Web_Journal.htm). Pictograph (pigment-coated) and petroglyph (surface-altered) art is scattered throughout the north, petroglyphs being only roughly dated on lake and sea level changes. Proper dating will allow a better description of culture by comparing art at each of its time levels.
Gordon earned a B.Sc. degree from the University of British Columbia, B.A. from the University of Washington, and a Ph.D. in Archaeology from the University of Calgary. From 1972–76, he was Arctic Archaeologist at the National Museum, from 1977–98 Curator of Arctic Archaeology (Keewatin), and from 1999 on Curator Emeritus. He is a Fellow of the Arctic Institute of North America, and has been an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Carleton University for twelve years. He speaks some Russian, French, and Spanish, has three years of training in Mandarin, and is currently in his second year of Arabic. He hopes his training in Chinese, Russian, and Arabic will allow him to explore aspects of the pre-Silk Road in Central Asia. For the past several years he has been applying his rock art dating methods in several countries.
Gordon is interested in speaking to academic audiences, graduate seminars, and the general public. His public speaking experience includes lecturing at many professional meetings, some schools, and guiding tourists in the north. Representative lecture titles include:
- People and Rangifer: An Ancient Bond
- Barrenland Archaeology
- Herd Followers in Ice-Age France and Mesolithic Russia
- Rise of Chinese Civilization
- Solving Palimpsest Problems in Archaeological Site
- Dating and revealing poorly preserved rock art.