Engendered Archaeologies: Intersubjectivity in Archaeological Heritage Practice and Interpretation

Heritage work, including archaeology and related disciplines, has been recognized as an intersubjective endeavor but theoretical examinations largely sidestep gender as a framework for analysis. However, critical approaches to participatory models of heritage practice necessitate a theoretical and action-oriented engagement with gender. This session aims to bring together two currently disparate contributions to archaeology— stakeholder-focused archaeological heritage work and an analysis of gender in the archaeological record. We hope to examine the complex entanglements that arise when working with stakeholders and interpreting and representing archaeological remains. Explorations may include feminist, queer, postcolonial, indigenous and other theoretical frameworks as well as considerations of aspects of selfhood including race, class, religion, age, etc. These may also draw on methodologies like community-based, collaborative, activist, participatory, ethical, action-oriented and public approaches. How are collaborative archaeology projects and heritage work more broadly engendered? How do participants in archaeological and heritage projects perform and enact gender? How do discourses of masculinity, femininity, and queer identities influence all phases of research: from conception through public engagement, fieldwork, analysis, presentation, publication, and preservation? At the heart of these questions lies an exploration of practice, power, memory, and narrative production that will enhance efforts at preserving and understanding heritage.