Bending Archaeology Toward Social Justice

Introduces an analytic model for how archaeologists can work toward social justice

School districts are experiencing increasing economic, racial, ethnic, linguistic, gender and sexuality, cultural diversity across the United States and globally. With increasing diversity and persistent social inequities widening (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2019; U.S. Census Data, 2018), educational leaders face immense challenges and must actively work to build an equitable, healthy school climate. Educational leaders are critical for ensuring positive student outcomes and success, but often report feeling inadequately prepared for current challenges (Coalition for Teacher Equality, 2016; Jordan, 2012; Miller, 2013; Mitani, 2018; Papa, 2007). Unfortunately, growing challenges are contributing to high school administrator turnover rates and shortages (Gates et al., 2006; Jacob et al., 2015; Mordechay & Orfield, 2017) as well as perpetuating social inequities among preK-12 students instead of dismantling them (Beckett, 2018; Fuller, 2012; Manna, 2015; Rangel, 2018; Shankar-Brown, 2015). A research study by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) and the Learning Policy Institute (LPI) reveals that public schools with higher percentages of low-income students and students of color are more likely to experience administrative and teacher turnover, which compounds equity issues affecting already vulnerable students (Levin and Bradley, 2019). This book provides educational leaders with a deeper understanding of equity-focused and inclusive leadership practices, while offering intersectional views on social inequalities and stark reminders of the work still ahead. Connecting theory to practice, this book offers needed encouragement and inspiration to both in-service and practicing educational leaders. Rooted in social justice and weaving together diverse voices, this edited volume systematically examines equity-focused PreK-12 and higher education leadership practices. Shankar-Brown (Ed.) calls on educational leaders to collectively rise and mindfully work together to bend the arc toward justice.

Little and Shackel use case studies from different regions across the world to challenge archaeologists to create an ethical public archaeology that is concerned not just with the management of cultural resources, but with social justice and civic responsibility.

The definition of “public archaeology” has expanded in recent years to include archaeologists’ collaborations with and within communities and activities in support of education, civic renewal, peacebuilding, and social justice. Barbara Little and Paul Shackel, long-term leaders in the growth of a civically-engaged, relevant archaeology, outline a future trajectory for the field in this concise, thoughtful volume. Drawing from the archaeological study of race and labor, among other examples, the authors explore this crucial opportunity and responsibility, then point the way for the discipline to contribute to the contemporary public good.

This interdisciplinary book argues that museums can offer a powerful, and often overlooked, arena for both exploring and acting upon the interrelated issues of immigration and social justice. Based on three in-depth European case studies, spanning France, Denmark, and the UK, the research examines programs developed by leading museums to address cultural, economic, social and political inequalities. Where previous studies on museums and immigration have focused primarily on issues of cultural inequalities in collection and interpretation, Museums, Immigrants, and Social Justice adopts a more comprehensive focus that extends beyond the exhibition hall to examine the full range of programs developed by museums to address the of cultural, economic, social and political inequalities facing immigrants. Museums, Immigrants, and Social Justice offers compelling insights on the ability of museums to offer positive contributions to the issues surrounding immigration and social justice at a time when both are pressing issues in Europe. It will be of interest to scholars and students of museum studies, migration studies, sociology, human geography and politics.

In The Virus Touch Bishnupriya Ghosh argues that media are central to understanding emergent relations between viruses, humans, and nonhuman life. Writing in the shadow of the HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 global pandemics, Ghosh theorizes “epidemic media” to show how epidemics are mediated in images, numbers, and movements through the processes of reading test results and tracking infection and mortality rates. Scientific, artistic, and activist epidemic media that make multispecies relations sensible and manageable eschew anthropocentric survival strategies and instead recast global public health crises as biological, social, and ecological catastrophes, pushing us toward a multispecies politics of health. Ghosh trains her analytic gaze on these mediations as expressed in the collection and analysis of blood samples as a form of viral media; the geospatialization of data that track viral hosts like wild primates; and the use of multisensory images to trace fluctuations in viral mutations. Studying how epidemic media inscribe, store, and transmit multispecies relations attunes us to the anthropogenic drivers of pathogenicity like deforestation or illegal wildlife trading and the vulnerabilities accruing from diseases that arise from socioeconomic inequities and biopolitical neglect.

Archaeologists have a history of being prime agents of change, particularly in advocating for protection and preservation of historical resources. As more social issues intersect with archaeology and historical sites, we see archaeologists and others continuing to advocate for not only historic resources, but for the larger social justice issues that threaten the communities in which these resources reside. Inspired by the idea of revolution and excitement about the ways archaeology is being used in social justice arenas, this volume seeks to visualize archaeology as part of a movement by redefining what archaeology is and does for the greater good.

The second edition of Contemporary Archaeology in Theory: The New Pragmatism, has been thoroughly updated and revised, and features top scholars who redefine the theoretical and political agendas of the field, and challenge the usual distinctions between time, space, processes, and people. Defines the relevance of archaeology and the social sciences more generally to the modern world Challenges the traditional boundaries between prehistoric and historical archaeologies Discusses how archaeology articulates such contemporary topics and issues as landscape and natures; agency, meaning and practice; sexuality, embodiment and personhood; race, class, and ethnicity; materiality, memory, and historical silence; colonialism, nationalism, and empire; heritage, patrimony, and social justice; media, museums, and publics Examines the influence of American pragmatism on archaeology Offers 32 new chapters by leading archaeologists and cultural anthropologists