THE TSOUNTAS HOUSE SHRINE
Early Greek Religion and the Cult Center at Mycenae

Anyone in the extended Pittsburgh area with an interest in an area connected to archaeology is an unofficial member of the society.

Unofficial members can upgrade their status to clients of the Pittsburgh Society by getting on our mailing list or attending one of our lectures or other events.

You can find the current schedule of events posted on The University of Pittsburgh's Department of Classics' AIA page.

To join our email list, simply send an email stating "Please add my email address to your AIA email list" to classics@pitt.edu. Since our email list is managed by the Department of Classics, and they have many interesting lectures and other events, you may want to be placed on their mailing list as well. If you'd like that, please say so in your message, otherwise you will only be placed on the Pittsburgh-AIA list.

The Pittsburgh Society of the AIA will not share your email address with anyone; we do not collect personal data; we do not use our mailing list for spam or commercial purposes. What you will receive from us are event announcements, society news, and occasional messages which we are relaying from the national office. On average, you should receive less than twelve emails from us per year.

We have three kinds of official members.

One consists of local members who support the Pittsburgh Society financially or through participation in its governance. For example, the Pittsburgh Society is chiefly supported by the Classics Department of the University of Pittsburgh, so members of that department have automatic membership.

The second kind of official members are those who join the Archaeological Institute of America and choose to be affiliated with the Pittsburgh Society (there is an option to affiliate with a local society on their membership form). It does not cost extra to affiliate with a local society.

The third group are student members, and we currently have a student group that meets at the University of Pittsburgh. See their Facebook Page or WordPress blog for more information.

The Pittsburgh Society has tended to be inactive during the spring and summer (May-August), so do not despair if there have not been recent posts during that period.

There are three levels of national membership.

The first consists of non-voting members. You can become a non-voting member of the AIA by subscribing to their Archaeology Magazine. The magazine is similar in some ways to The Smithsonian Magazine and National Geographic, except that it has a narrower focus on archaeological discoveries and related news.

The second level of membership is a national membership with an affiliation to a local society. You get all the benefits of national membership, plus information about and invitations to local lectures and other events. National members can select from a range of membership levels. The AIA is the largest organization for professional archaeologists in America. It publishes the prestigious scholarly journal, the American Journal of Archaeology, as well as Archaeology Magazine.

The third level of membership is a national membership without an affiliation to a local society. The AIA has a worldwide influence since its members excavate at sites all over the world. It participates in a partners program with many museums. It has grants and scholarships for students and researchers, travel programs guided by professional archaeologists. It funds free public lectures and hosts an annual conference. You don't have to be connected to a local society to enjoy these benefits.

Just as cars run on gas, non-profit organizations run on cash. The more you put in, the further things can go. The Pittsburgh Society of the Archaeological Institute of America has been generously supported by the Department of Classics at the University of Pittsburgh for nearly thirty years. You can help us grow by helping them grow.

If you think there is more to life than being an employee, and that it is important for students to develop a humane attitude and refinements of taste in areas like literature, philosophy, architecture, art, mathematics, history, theatre, engineering, medicine, and more, then please consider supporting the study of classics.

Small donations ($5) add up, medium donations ($35) go a long way, big donations ($100) move mountains, and gigantic donations ($1,000) can make a big dent in a student's tuition; beyond that, we are in the territory of grants and endowments, and, in case you are curious or exceedingly wealthy, $50 million would be sufficient to run a small but respectable Classics Department from now until the end of the world (or at least until the total collapse of the economy).

How can you give? Follow this link to the Classics Departments Donations Page and follow the directions carefully.