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Re: lecture subjects?
Kathleen A. Gillogly (Kagillogly@AOL.COM)
Fri, 15 Dec 1995 16:15:51 -0500
In a message dated 95-12-14 15:54:52 EST, Adrienne wrote:
>> What about "feminist archaeology" ?? I don't know much about it, but it
>seems
>> pretty controversial...........
And a reply cited Janet Spector. I would also recommend Margaret Conkey.
This topic is not 'controversial' or 'radical' in the modern American t.v.
sense. No one shouts at each other. But it is pretty shattering stuff,
because what Spector and Conkey do is question all of our basic assumptions
about what we see in the ground and how we interpret it. Archaeology, after
all, has relatively little to go on beyond physical remains. We can't ask
the people who made them what they thought; it's not even always clear what
they did! This leaves interpretation wide open to culturally-biased
assumptions about gender roles, etc. It shifts the pieces in the
kaleidoscope so that we see a whole new picture and wonder why we didn't see
it there before.
A similar piece of work is by Sally [?] [her last name changed once or twice
so I can never remember it] in Rayna Rapp's edited collection on feminist
anthropology. The name of the article is "Woman the Gatherer" and it
reinterprets what we "know" about the social organization of early humans.
It's a significant piece of work.
Best wishes,
K. Gillogly
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