Gender, Masculinity, and Professional-Avocational Heritage Collaborations

Summary

Relationships among professional and avocational archaeologists have changed in the last few decades with the increase in collaborative heritage projects worldwide. Professionals and avocationals often work side-by-side on archaeological sites, collaborate on research, and engage in mutual knowledge sharing. However, little attention has been paid to the gendered dimensions of these relationships. Feminist critiques of research and practices within professional archaeology, along with demographic shifts in the field, have transformed practice in many ways, but little attention has been given to the way gender structures our social relationships with contemporary partners in archaeological projects, including descendant communities, local residents, and avocationals. In this paper, I consider the gendered dimensions of avocational-professional relationships, drawing from experiences with a multistakeholder collaborative project in New England. Masculinist notions of archaeology and authority pervade avocational-professional relationships and can create tensions in all phases of community-based projects. This paper examines avocational-professional relationships as a step towards: (1) discerning how gender structures and intervenes in the social relationships of archaeologists and avocationals; and (2) exploring the implications of engendering professionals and avocationalists for collaborative efforts.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Engendered Archaeologies: Intersubjectivity in Archaeological Heritage Practice and Interpretation

Keywords

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