Stretching the Envelope of Archaeology, from Museum Work to Women’s Studies

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Breaking Free from the (Institutional) Matrix: Archaeological Career Pathways In and Between Academia, CRM, Non-Profit, and Museum Spheres", at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Defining archaeology as the science of material culture makes it relevant to most professions and academic disciplines because material culture is integral to all aspects of culture. Historical archaeology is an interdisciplinary field that is particularly well-suited to expanding into further interdisciplinary research and teaching. The authors of this paper exemplify stretching archaeology in combination with several professions. Alex Konieczny has used his Oakland University BA in anthropology specializing in archaeology in his positions developing programs and designing exhibits at the Troy Historic Village in Michigan. Suzanne Spencer-Wood’s long career includes combining CRM with academia and stretching archaeology into business consulting and in positions as director and teacher in Oakland University’s women’s studies program. She has most recently designed and gained approval for an archaeology minor structured to appeal to non-anthropology majors who are interested in applying another major to archaeology, whether chemistry, biology, math, history, art or creative writing.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Breaking Free from the (Institutional) Matrix: Archaeological Career Pathways In and Between Academia, CRM, Non-Profit, and Museum Spheres   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2025

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow