Affording Archaeology: How the Cost of Field School Keeps Archaeology Exclusive

Summary

This is an abstract from the "What Have You Done For Us Lately?: Discrimination, Harassment, and Chilly Climate in Archaeology" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In response to the contemporary critiques about discrimination and inequality within the archaeological academic community, many individuals and advocacy groups have suggested field school scholarships as one tactic in promoting diversity in the field. In this paper, we will explore the costs of going to the field in various parts of the world, the strategies that archaeologists use to make fieldwork affordable, and the availability of scholarships. While creating these field school grants may provide the appearance of generating change, the reality is that there are an extremely limited number of these opportunities and that the financial allowance is inadequate to cover the cost of field schools.These scholarships allow academics to feel as though they are supporting diversity in archaeology while maintaining the white/cis/straight/upper-middle-class demographic of the field. These empty gestures hinder many potential archaeologists from gaining the experience necessary to finish their undergraduate degrees, conducting their own research, or finding employment in cultural resource management. The aim of this paper is to address one aspect of the institutionalized racism and discrimination exhibited by the archaeological community and to consider potential solutions to these problems.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)   •
• What Have You Done For Us Lately?: Discrimination, Harassment, and Chilly Climate in Archaeology

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24006