Archaeology at Binghamton University

 

The archaeology program at Binghamton University is distinguished by its emphasis on a critically engaged archaeology.  Our research and teaching are informed by practice theory, political economy, theories of the subject, feminism, critiques of ideology, phenomenology, historical ecology, and issues of cultural resource and heritage management. Our professional practice places collaborative and critically reflexive approaches to research and connections to multiple publics in the forefront of our work.  Faculty members acknowledge the crucial political, economic and ethical elements of all archaeological practice. We are actively involved in consultations and collaborations with indigenous and descendent communities (Native Americans, African Americans, and others); in research on museum and media presentation of archaeology; in collecting and cultural understandings of objects; and in the establishment of participatory community archaeology programs. The Binghamton program’s dual emphasis on responsibilities to the living and well grounded, theoretically informed studies of the past places particular weight on dynamic relationship between past and present.

The archaeology program enjoys a strong national and international reputation, thanks to the active research and public outreach of our faculty and students.  The program is particularly well known for its engagement with cutting edge theory in archaeology and anthropology and for its attention to linking theoretical perspectives to archaeological practice. The success of these endeavors is documented in the excellent faculty and graduate student record of external research funding, strong publication records, and high levels of interest in our program on the part of prospective graduate students both nationally and internationally.

Our goal is to prepare students to be ethical researchers, innovative scholars, and successful practitioners of professional archaeology in a variety of career contexts ranging from the academy to cultural resource management.  The achievement of this goal is demonstrated in the success of our graduates, many of whom have pursued careers in academic and applied professions.

Archaeology Faculty and Research

Binghamton’s Archaeology faculty are active researchers within North America (especially in the Northeast and Southwest), South America (Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador), Mexico, and the Near East (Turkey and Iran). Graduate students work across the range of geographical, topical, and theoretical foci of the faculty, and often join their field projects.

Topically, our faculty study states and empires, households and communities, ideology and religion, and the use of landscape within both prehistoric and historical contexts.  A focus on colonial encounters connects to broader departmental interests in globalization, while concerns with practice and materiality underscore the central role of material objects in cultural process.  Faculty members have methodological expertise in the analysis of lithics, pottery, historical materials, mortuary evidence, faunal remains, landscapes, and architecture.

Cross-cutting our specific research foci are these themes:

• Landscape, Memory, and the Built Environment
• Feminism, Gender, and the Body
• Materiality
• Archaeology and Communities
• Political Economy
• Historical Ecology
• Ideologies in Archaeology
• Archaeology and the Creation of Subjects
• Cultural Resource Management and International Heritage Studies
• Archaeology, Media, and Representation

Graduate Courses in Archaeology:

ANTH 529 SPACE, TIME AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

ANTH 551 STRATEGIES OF ARCHAEOLOGY

ANTH 552 HISTORY OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL THEORY AND PRACTICE

ANTH 554 ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY OF CULTURAL SYSTEMS

ANTH 576 PROBLEMS IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL AREA STUDIES

ANTH 583 PRACTICA IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL METHODS

ANTH 585 CULTURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT:POLICY AND PROCEDURES

ANTH 586 CONDUCT OF ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE CULTURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK

Resources for Students

Archaeology Degree Guidelines

 

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