A Visual Analysis of Intersecting Identities: Nathan Harrison's Gender Performance in Southern California

Summary

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

Nathan Harrison, a formerly enslaved man from Kentucky, was adept at performing specific masculinities (and other identities) within different community groups. Through forced migration, Harrison traveled from Kentucky to California during the mid-1800s. After gaining his freedom, Harrison continued moving south until he settled in San Diego County. Archaeological excavations at his Palomar Mountain homestead uncovered an extensive artifact collection and archival work located abundant historical documents and oral narratives that detail Harrison’s interactions with neighbors, friends, and tourists. Social network analysis will be used to determine how this personal community changed over time and space. A visual analysis will then be done on a selection of historical documents and oral narratives to understand how Harrison navigated social situations during a time of blatant racism and violence against African Americans.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 40468.0