The FSU Department of Anthropology invites you to join the second even in the John T. Ho Lecture Series in Diverse Anthropological Inquiries.
Tiffany Cherelle Cain, anthropologist and a Cotsen Postdoctoral Fellow in the Princeton Society of Fellows and Lecturer in Princeton's Anthropology Department and Humanities Council, is set to present "Against the 'Workman' Model (and Other Mechanisms of Injustice in Archaeology) Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 4 p.m.
Writings on the potential to decolonize archaeology have gradually gained traction over the past two decades as Indigenous, Black, and variously postcolonial scholars have insisted on the discipline’s engagement with its own complicities in the advancement of colonialist and racist ideals. In this talk, Cain argues that one of the impediments to realizing a decolonized archaeology is the discipline’s relationship (and ongoing commitment) to cheap and hierarchically organized labor. On the one hand, archaeology can provide much needed economic opportunities in communities where capital flows are often limited. On the other hand, the equitable partnerships advocates of a decolonial praxis propose often remain entangled in the politics of unequal access to educational and financial resources that drive archaeological research. What often goes unrealized however is that in addition to archaeology’s “workmen” labor model being exploitative, it perpetuates epistemic injustice — that is it unfairly discriminates against particular kinds of people in their capacities as knowers and knowledge producers.
Archaeology’s “workmen”, many of whom have years or sometimes decades of archaeological research experience, nonetheless remain uncredentialed and are thus viewed as less credible knowers of archaeological history in their respective work areas. Cain will take this persistent problem as an entry point to a more encompassing conversation about the mechanisms of injustice that continue to stymie archaeology’s effectiveness as both a science and a potentially liberatory heritage practice. How might we mobilize collaborative research practices to upend the workmen model and where else might we still have significant room for improvement?
Cain is an anthropologist drawing on techniques from across anthropology and history to investigate the ways in which the legacies of the past, particularly colonialism and other forms of political violence, inform present-day political consciousness and imaginations of the future. She recently completed her doctorate in anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. Cain was a visiting student with the Department of Anthropology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor from 2016-18. Her ongoing research project is based in Quintana Roo, Mexico, where she helps to facilitate a community heritage initiative called the "Tihosuco Heritage Preservation and Community Development Project." Cain is committed to operationalizing public history to meet social justice needs.
This event is supported by the Dean's Office of FSU's College of Arts and Sciences, the President's Council on Diversity & Inclusion, and the FSU Department of Anthropology.
This event will be held over Zoom and advance registration is required.
Tuesday, October 27, 2020 at 4:00pm
Virtual EventColleges, College of Arts and Sciences, Anthropology, Classics, History, Philosophy, Religion, History and Philosophy of Science, Center for Humanities and Society, Women's Studies Program
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