Transformations in Professional Archaeology

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Most professionals in archaeology emerge from educational centers hosted within departments of Anthropology, where the four field approach has dominated training. Market forces and preference for the STEM fields are now constraining educational opportunities for the humanities and social sciences. Declines in post-secondary enrollment, programs unable or unwilling to adapt, or outright closures are at play. Higher-education decision makers are questioning the value of degrees in Archaeology and Anthropology at the same moment work is expanding within review and compliance, heritage preservation, user experience design, artificial intelligence – fields where social scientists are uniquely positioned to make relevant and immediate contributions. In the last several years, a number of grassroots movements, partnerships, nonprofits, and for-profit providers have formed to fill training gaps and disrupt traditional educational frameworks. Tactical skill-building and experiential learning in service of applied – not pure research – work settings are emphasized. How has the historical shift toward cultural resource management informed these new training paradigms within our sister fields of Anthropology? And how are current discussions of professional, practicing and applied work impacting the way future archaeologists will be educated? Case studies from personal and professional engagements across fields and sectors will illustrate this discussion.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 40224.0