Figaro’s Bliss: Changing Theories and Practices – Reflections on Their Effects on Everyday Work, Equality, and Careers in Academia and Other Archaeological Organizations

This paper throws light on the presence and effects of two diverse but noticeable veins of change in archaeology and in academia. On the one hand are current feminist and gender-informed scientific analyses and results. On the other hand, is the New Public Management (NPM) model as implemented at universities and several archaeological organizations, with a focus on academia. A reflection on the “New Multi-tasking Scholar”, who is a product of the NPM model, gave associations to the Factotum, Gioacchino Rossini’s famous character. The discussion will provide a brief update on the various critical voices recently heard. A main conclusion of the paper is that the general environment in archaeology and academia are characterized by a paradox between rhetoric and praxis. This is that expanding gender critical discourses in research, and a strong rhetoric on gender policy, are produced in a setting where we experience the establishment of a new hierarchy.