Community-Based Learning Opportunities in History and Heritage: Rice University Course in Archaeological Field Techniques and Public Archaeology in Brazoria County, TX

Summary

This is an abstract from the "What’s Going on in Texas? Current Topics in Texas Archaeology" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

There’s a lot going on in Texas Archaeology, some of which includes new ways of

teaching, learning, and engaging. At Rice University, undergraduate students excavate

at plantation sites in Brazoria County alongside descendants of those who were

once enslaved in these same spaces, working in partnership with local museum and heritage

managers to change the way history is told at tourist sites in Texas. Project members

excavate the dwellings of captive laborers at Patton Place, collaborating with

interns from the local community to build interpretations that fill in the gaps of available

information on the lives of their ancestors. In partnership with local heritage and

preservation groups, we make this information available to the public through museum

exhibits and digital heritage products. The goal is a curriculum where students

gain an understanding of archaeological field techniques, learn from

local people about family histories, work with museum professionals in public history,

and explore new ways of making stories about the past more inclusive and accessible.

The result is an approach to teaching archaeology that is embedded in community and

heritage, a way of learning through shared knowledge and collaboration, and a direct

connection to the public through engaged archaeological research.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• What’s Going on in Texas? Current Topics in Texas Archaeology

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 51761