The Immigrant Experience in an Urban Archaeological Context: Challenges and Opportunities in the Nation’s Capital

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Urban Preservation Challenges in a Global Perspective", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Studying the immigrant experience in urban archaeological contexts can be a challenge. Sites with immigrant residents often included tenants rather than property owners and were subject to high turnover. Washington, DC has always been a transient city and presents a particular global perspective where opportunities and restrictions for immigrants have been related to its status as the seat of U.S. empire. Examining the spectrum of archaeology projects in the District, this paper explores the preservation challenges of studying shifting immigrant communities in a dynamic urban environment. We consider methods and analytical frameworks with potential for interpreting sites whose occupants have shaped the city’s growth and the nation’s in unrecognized or hidden ways. What can archaeology illuminate about claims to local belonging as echoed in national debates past and present? What strategies can we envision for public-facing projects and revisiting rich legacy collections in the archaeology of immigration in cities?

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Urban Preservation Challenges in a Global Perspective   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow