Let’s Talk About Gender—The Place of Gender in Current Archaeological Debates

This chapter, and the volume that it introduces, situates gender in current archaeological debates. The central argument is that gender archaeology as a field of study is in crisis, although some research communities are better positioned than others. This predicament not only affects the relevance and credibility of the field before the larger archaeological community, but also the circumstances in which gender-concerned archaeologists conduct their research. First, we assess the state of gender archaeology in Europe and North America, attempting to find explanations and propose solutions for the field’s decline. We then review the place of gender within the major theoretical and methodological debates which have influenced archaeology in the past decade, especially in Western research traditions, such as the Third Science Revolution, posthumanism, new materialism, intersectionality, mobility, and violence. We argue that although gender has largely been absent from these debates, this should be an inseparable component of research and narratives on the human past. Finally, we explore the impact of present global tensions and online trends in the dissemination, visibility and accessibility of archaeological gender research.