Sexualities and Textualities: An Archaeological Perspective

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Deviations: Archaeologies of Sexuality Beyond the Heteronormative", at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

As researchers become more critical about the distinctions among phenomena we call "sexuality," "gender," "sex," etc., we are better equipped to reflect on what precisely can be known or learned about any and all of them. This paper asks what archaeological analysis might contribute to an understanding of life in the Pauli Murray Family Home in Durham, North Carolina, ca. 1900-1950. Specifically, given what the archival record reveals about Murray's sexuality, how can an archaeologist frame meaningful questions that produce new knowledge about Murray, about their family, and about life in the first half of the 20th century?

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2025   •
• Deviations: Archaeologies of Sexuality Beyond the Heteronormative

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow