Archaeology and Gender in Europe
Welcome to the website of the EAA Community Archaeology and Gender in Europe (AGE)!
Disclaimer: views expressed on this EAA-community website are not necessarily those of the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA).
About us
AGE (Archaeology and Gender in Europe) is a network of archaeologists interested in the study of gender in past and present societies. Formally established as a Community of the European Association of Archaeologists, it is open to current EAA members as well as non-members.
Mission
AGE considers gender both as a structural element to be studied in the past and as influencing research in the present. It will thus address the study and understanding of gender relations in the past and the study and understanding of how current gender systems affect archaeology as an academic and professional practice.
Aims
AGE provides a formal and permanent European network of Gender Archaeology. In addition, AGE peruses the following goals:
- establishing and promoting gender/feminist archaeology as a consolidated research area
- establishing gender/feminist archaeology as part of the teaching curricula in archaeology
- expanding and promoting the theoretical foundations of gender/feminist archaeology in order to encourage new thinking about its significance
- creating a meeting place and a discussion platform for scholars interested in gender and feminist studies in archaeology and related disciplines.
- communicating research on gender archaeology to both scholars and the general public
- creating opportunities for collaborative research related to gender archaeology across Europe
- discussing specific research topics related to gender/feminist archaeology in the framework of the EAA annual conferences and beyond
- promoting gender equality & diversity in European archaeology
Background
The proposal for an EAA working party on Gender and Archaeology in Europe arose from the EAA session ‘Gender, Identity and Materiality’ celebrated in Malta in 2008. The AGE community was formally established in the framework of EAA the same year, and has been renewed each year.
The first official action of the current party was a round table discussion on ‘Gender and Archaeology in Europe’ at the EAA meeting in Riva del Garda in 2009. In tune with our goals, we invited young speakers from seven different European countries in Europe to present their views on the situation of professional women archaeologists working in Europe and their views on what gender archaeology should be.
Since then, AGE members have been organizing sessions on gender-related topics each year at the EAA Annual Meetings as well as other conferences. AGE sponsoring ensures members can easily find colleagues with related interests. Recently, we have started to organize our own online conferences and to create our own publications, for example:
Coltofean-Arizancu, L., Gaydarska, B., and Matić, U. (eds) 2021. Gender Stereotypes in Archaeology. A short reflection in image and text. Leiden: Sidestone Press.