Emphasizing the role that university presses play in elevating authors, subjects, and whole disciplines that bring new perspectives, ideas, and voices to readers around the globe, the Association of University Presses (AUPresses) has chosen “Raise UP” as the theme for this year’s University Press Week. University Press of Florida is a proud member of AUPresses, and this reading list is part of the University Press Week blog tour. Today we are highlighting some of our recent books in archaeology.
Many people may not think of archaeology in connection with social justice, but the books in this list show that the methods and tools of the discipline can and should be used to benefit all members of society. Archaeology can be a voice for vulnerable populations by documenting the hidden histories of those silenced in the past, finding legacies of marginalization in artifacts, the built environment, and other components of the material world. Even methods such as 3-D modeling or database management can be activist when used to preserve artifacts and heritage sites and to safeguard knowledge over generations. Take a look at this selection of books to learn more.
Use code READUP for discounts and free shipping through December 16.
Trowels in the Trenches
Edited by Christopher P. Barton
Available in February 2021
Trowels in the Trenches demonstrates the many different ways archaeology can be used to contest social injustice. This volume shows that activism in archaeology does not need to involve radical or explicitly political actions but can be practiced in subtler forms as a means of studying the past, informing the present, and creating a better future.
A Struggle for Heritage
Christopher N. Matthews
This book examines race and racism in a Native American and African American community on Long Island’s north shore. It brings attention to the continuous, gradual, and effective economic assault on people of color living in a traditional neighborhood amid gentrification.
Historical Archaeology and Indigenous Collaboration: Discovering Histories That Have Futures
D. Rae Gould, Holly Herbster, Heather Law Pezzarossi, and Stephen A. Mrozowski
Historical Archaeology and Indigenous Collaboration helps demonstrate that the history of Native Americans did not end with the arrival of Europeans. Exploring key issues of continuity, authenticity, and identity, this book provides a model for research projects that seek to incorporate indigenous knowledge and scholarship.
Colonialism, Community, and Heritage in Native New England
Siobhan M. Hart
This book offers a much-needed critique of collaborative efforts to preserve and promote the cultural heritage of the New England region. Colonialism, Community, and Heritage presents evidence of the ways well-intentioned multiperspective approaches to heritage can actually undermine the social justice they seek.
We Come for Good: Archaeology and Tribal Historic Preservation at the Seminole Tribe of Florida
Edited by Paul N. Backhouse, Brent R. Weisman, and Mary Beth Rosebrough
This book uses the operations of the Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO) of the Seminole Tribe of Florida as an example of how tribes can successfully manage and retain authority over the heritage of their respective cultures. We Come for Good also offers one of the first attempts to document Native perspectives on the archaeology of native populations.
Archaeologies of Listening
Edited by Peter R. Schmidt and Alice B. Kehoe
Essays in this volume argue that listening to and learning from local and descendant communities is vital for interpreting the histories and heritage values of archaeological sites. This volume points the way to a reawakening of this core principle of anthropology in archaeology and heritage studies.
The Rosewood Massacre: An Archaeology and History of Intersectional Violence
Edward Gonzalez-Tennant
This book investigates the 1923 series of events that devastated the predominantly African American community of Rosewood, Florida. It connects historic forms of racial violence to present-day social and racial inequality and argues that such continuities demonstrate the need to make events like the Rosewood massacre public knowledge.
The Archaeology of Removal in North America
Edited by Terrance Weik
These case studies demonstrate what archaeology can reveal about the agents, causes, processes, and effects of human removal and displacement. They also broaden our understanding of displacement by identifying parallels with removal experiences occurring today.
The Archaeology of Northern Slavery and Freedom
James A. Delle
This book debunks the notion that the “free” states of the Northeast truly offered freedom and safety for African Americans. The excavations discussed here, from cities including New York and Philadelphia, show that archaeology can challenge whitewashed history by recovering material artifacts that express the agency of their makers and users, many of whom were written out of the documentary record.
Use code READUP for discounts and free shipping through December 16.
Visit the other university presses participating in the UP Week blog tour today! Today’s posts share the theme “Active Voices.”
University of Notre Dame Press
University of South Carolina Press
University of Toronto Press Journals
The Florida Bookshelf 