Archaeology News and Announcements

from Brown University's Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World

Tag: Society of Black Archaeologists

Society of Black Archaeologists | April Newsletter

By

On April 11, 2024

In News and Events

The Society of Black Archaeology (SBA) has released their April newsletter! See below for some highlights from their announcements, as well as more information on how to get involved.

Updates

2024 Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology | The 89th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology will take place on April 17-21, 2024. Many members of the SBA will be attending and are planning to get together for dinner! Email Jordan Daivs [secretary@societyofblackarchaeologists.com] to let them know if you are interested in attending or will be in town!

African American Burial Grounds Preservation Program | The SBA is asking for your help in getting the African American Burial Grounds Preservation Program S.3667 and H.R.6805) approved appropriation from Congress to implement the program! The program establishes a $3 million annual grant program to aid preservation and research of African American burial grounds across the country, protecting invaluable sites of community and memory. The SBA asks for you to contact your Congressperson to approve the $3 million dollar budget and visit the National Trust for Historic Preservation page to write a letter of support that will be sent immediately to your State Representative.

Opportunities

The University of Missouri Research Reactor’s Archaeometry Laboratory | This workshop is to provide historical archaeologists with fundamental skills in archaeological sciences. It will take place from August 5th-8th, 2024. The workshop is open to graduate students and early career researchers in historical archaeology; attendees do not need previous experiences with archaeological science. The workshop is in person, and will be held in Columbia, Missouri. Each attendee will be reimbursed for up to $600 in travel and housing expenses. To find out more information, as well as how to apply to the workshop, please see this link. Questions may be sent to Matt Greer at mcgkkb@missouri.edu.

For more information on opportunities exclusive to SBA members, as well as how to get involved with the Society of Black Archaeologists, please visit the SBA website here.

Updates from the Society of Black Archaeologists

By

On February 23, 2024

In CFP, News and Events

 

The Society of Black Archaeologists (SBA) has released their February Newsletter! Featured information includes upcoming publications, conferences, and call for papers.

Publications

  • Dossiê Arqueologias Negras: nossas lutas, nossas histórias – Primeira parte – NegrArqueo has recently published a special issue on Black Archaeology in the journal Revista de Arqueologia v. 37 n. 1 (2024).

Upcoming Events

  • The Northwest Anthropological Conference: Portland, Oregon | March 6-9, 2024 – The 2024 theme is “Building Bridges”: Consultation and Community Engagement, Registration is now open. This conference will also host a Tribal Caucus, the Portland Indigenous Marketplace with other vendors/organizations, a silent auction to support local nonprofits (The Chúush Fund: Water for Warm Springs, and All Tribes Mental Health Services, Inc.), and much more! Tribal member admission is free and there is a stipend application for tribal members to cover costs of attendance through the Association of Oregon Archaeologists (AOA). See the nwaconference.com website for more details
  • Anthropology and the Black Experience Conference | May 15-18, 2024 – The Association of Black Anthropologists (ABA), Society of Black Archaeologists (SBA), and the Black in BioAnth (BiBA) Collective are pleased to host The Anthropology and the Black Experience Conference, May 15-18, 2023 at University of Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar, Senegal. The 21st century has witnessed significant shifts in the anthropological landscape, with diverse voices and perspectives emerging to challenge traditional narratives. This conference seeks to explore the unique contributions and experiences of Black scholars in anthropology, emphasizing the rich tapestry of knowledge, methodologies, and insights they bring to the discipline. They invite scholars, researchers, and students from all sub-disciplines and related fields to reflect on the historiography of anthropology in Africa and the African diaspora, the role and contributions of people of African descent in the field, and the latest research being done by and in communities of African descent.

Opportunities 

  • Herskovits Library of African Studies Research Grant | Northwestern University – The Northwestern University Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies is one of the largest separate African studies libraries in existence. Applications are open for the 2024-2025 Northwestern Libraries Travel Grants. This travel grant was established in 2021 to facilitate and support research projects that significantly benefit from substantial onsite use of the unique, special and archival collections of the Herskovits Library. The grant is available to researchers whose projects explore new lines of inquiry, interdisciplinary and multi-layered research and contribute to the deeper understanding of the diverse peoples and countries of the African continent. The deadline to apply is April 1, 2024.
  • Call for Papers – Archaeologies of Crisis and Constraint: African Tales from the Field | Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites – Contributors are asked to discuss the ways in which catastrophic or unexpected events influence the practice of heritage research, fieldwork, and management in Africa. In the issue, authors will detail how these occurrences (that we sometimes might not disclose) force us to adopt new innovative strategies that drive our work in new and exciting ways that would otherwise have not taken place. Email an abstract of no more than 300 words by April 1 2024 to Rachel Ama Asaa Engmann [raaengmann@theafricainstitute.org]
  • SBA Conference Travel Award – The award offers support for non-US SBA members traveling to present research at scholarly conferences. SBA will provide a total award of up to $1000 USD. Award funding is intended for conference and travel-related expenses, including conference registration, travel (e.g., airfare, vehicle rentals), and room/board. Questions about the award can be sent to treasurer@societyofblackarchaeologists.com

For more information on the SBA, as well as how to support their staff and scholars, please visit their website here.

2024 Black History Month at the Institute | Associations and Archives

By

On February 7, 2024

In News and Events

Black History Month is a time to honor the contributions African Americans have made to the United States and the world at large, both in the past and present. This February at the Joukowsky Institute, we are highlighting resources created by and for African American scholars of archaeology and anthropology. This will be a three part series with each blog post focusing on different aspects of contemporary African American archaeology: Associations and Archives, Resources and Funding for Black Students, and Field School Opportunities. This week’s post will focus on the intellectual spaces Black and African American scholars have made for themselves within the field, as well as the archives of invaluable knowledge they have maintained and preserved.

Associations and Archives

African Diaspora Archaeology Network (ADAN) | ADAN is an online platform that hosts current news on archaeological studies of the African diaspora. They have archived hundreds of texts relating to the material culture and heritage of the African Diaspora, as well as publish a quarterly online Newsletter. ADAN’s goal is to build an intellectual community for researchers of the African Diaspora, including interdisciplinary studies of African-diasporic material culture.

Journal of African Diaspora Archaeology and Heritage | This journal publishes peer-reviewed articles on the archaeology, history, material culture, and heritage of African descendant populations. Work published in this article spans across the globe, and features topics ranging from the foodways of the African Diaspora to urban archaeology, and more. They publish a compiled volume of work three times a year, including special issues. Their archive of all past issues may be found here.

The World Wide Web of African Archaeology | This site is an archive of archaeological studies and projects pertaining to the heritage of Africans. The website includes a bibliography of work done in Central Africa, a list of institutions and universities pioneering studies of African archaeology, and a list of ancient maps/documents important to studying African archaeology.

Society of Black Archaeologists (SBA) | The SBA was founded in 2011 with the goal to uplift Black and African communities related to the field of archaeology, as well as build a network for Black and African scholars. They host webinar series related to racial equity, community archaeology, and socially-responsible archaeology, and send out a monthly newsletter highlighting opportunities for Black and African archaeologists.

The Association for Black Anthropologists (ABA) | The ABA is a flagship society founded in the 1970s with the intention of making space for Black/African American scholars to enter the field of anthropology. Their members include sociocultural anthropologists, medical anthropologists, biological/physical anthropologists, and archaeologists of various disciplines. They publish work that critically engages with how the discipline of anthropology can better serve Black communities around the world. This year, they are hosting a conference in Senegal entitled “Anthropology and the Black Experience.”

We encourage you to explore more of the amazing work Black and African American archaeologists pioneering today. Please stay tuned for next week’s post: Resources and Funding for Black Students.

*Compiled and written by Christina Miles (`25) 

Society of Black Archaeologists: January Updates

By

On January 26, 2024

In CFP, Funding & Fellowships, News and Events

The Society of Black Archaeologists (SBA) wishes you a happy new year! This January, the SBA highlights some of their members’ achievements, as well as announces their new SBA elected officials.

2024 Elected Officials

President-elect: Alicia Odewale

Secretary: Jordan Davis

Treasurer: Craig Stevens

Student Representative: Rebecca Davis

 

Milestones & Achievements 

  • Congratulations to the Back-to-Africa Heritage and Archaeology Project (BAHA) for receiving the Society for Historical Archaeology Mark E. Mack Community Engagement Awards for January 2024! The award honors research project teams who exhibit outstanding best practices in community collaboration, engagement, and outreach in their historical archaeology and heritage preservation work. The BAHA team is being acknowledged for their public archaeology and curation efforts at Providence Island and the National Museum of Liberia. Shoutout to the BAHA team for the great work!
Upcoming Events & Opportunities 
  • The Archaeological Society of Jamaica: “Public Archaeology and Heritage at White Marl” Virtual Webinar | Wednesday, January 24, 2024, at 6:00 PM local time – This engaging session will delve into the rich tapestry of Heritage and Archaeology at White Marl in Central Village, Saint Catherine.The focus will be on exploring the intricacies of this complex, organized pre-colonial site and shedding light on the potential risks it faces in the context of highway development. The discussion will extend to the profound concepts of memory and heritage, connecting decades of archaeological research to the contemporary life of the modern community surrounding the site. Join for an enlightening evening as we uncover the layers of history, weaving together the threads of the past with the challenges and opportunities of the present.
  • “Anthropology and the Black Experience” Dakar, Senegal | May 15-18, 2024 – The Association of Black Anthropologists (ABA), Society of Black Archaeologists (SBA), and the Black in BioAnth (BiBA) Collective are pleased to announce a call for papers for a conference entitled “Anthropology and the Black Experience.” The 21st century has witnessed significant shifts in the anthropological landscape, with diverse voices and perspectives emerging to challenge traditional narratives. This conference seeks to explore the unique contributions and experiences of Black scholars in anthropology, emphasizing the rich tapestry of knowledge, methodologies, and insights they bring to the discipline. We invite scholars, researchers, and students from all sub-disciplines and related fields to reflect on the historiography of anthropology in Africa and the African diaspora, the role and contributions of people of African descent in the field, and the latest research being done by and in communities of African descent.
  • SBA Conference Travel Award | The award offers support for non-US SBA members traveling to present research at scholarly conferences. SBA will provide a total award of up to $1000 USD. Award funding is intended for conference and travel-related expenses, including conference registration, travel (e.g., airfare, vehicle rentals), and room/board. Questions about the review criteria and the award can be directed to treasurer@societyofblackarchaeologists.com
  • Climate Change and Archaeology Survey | The Heritage-at-Risk Task Force of the Southeastern Archaeological Conference (SEAC) is conducting a short survey on the effects of climate change on the practice of archaeology and the resources we study. They invite all SBA members to contribute!
For more information on the SBA, please visit their webpage linked here.

Recent Posts

Categories

Archives

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén