Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - GaTHeR (GaTHeR, Gender and Transfer of Knowledge in Hunter Gatherer Research)

Teaser

Project\'s objectives. The project aimed at analyzing feminist knowledge production in hunter-gatherers (HG) studies, a subfield in Archaeology and Anthropology selected as a case study. The project had from the beginning an ambitious and multifaceted work package broken down...

Summary

Project\'s objectives. The project aimed at analyzing feminist knowledge production in hunter-gatherers (HG) studies, a subfield in Archaeology and Anthropology selected as a case study. The project had from the beginning an ambitious and multifaceted work package broken down in two parts. The first part asked : Have feminist insights made inroads in HG studies? How has the notion of gender been integrated? Do specialists of small-scale-societies draw on feminist social theories (i.e queer, and post/decolonial approaches)? Which methods are being the most compatible with feminist knowledges?

The second part of the project focused on the context within which knowledges are generated today by considering the neoliberal character of academia. Indeed multiple constraints and pressures can be observed today such as: changing governance structures, a decrease of public funding, gendered career asymmetries, a relegation of women to teaching activities, and time acceleration to mention only a few aspects. These current transformation impacts the way knowledge is produced, who controls it, and whose interests are served (see Alvanoudi 2009, Lykke 2010). Key questions were: to what extent is feminist knowledge production affected by such changes? Looking at the current academic working conditions, questions were formulated about their possible relations with the circulation of critical knowledges? Is the HG field of research specific?

Importance for the society. Scholars investigate HG societies for addressing pressing issues related to colonialism, genocides, the necessary adaptation of climate changes, or HIV/AIDS infection, among others. Employing a gender dimension in HG research is therefore crucial, and the marginalization of feminist and Indigenous knowledges remain indeed highly questionable.

Work performed

WP1 was based on a literature search using Scopus and Web of Science on HG and gender/feminist related issues to identify the plurality and legacy of (the scarce) feminist perspectives within this area of research. Essential support was provided by two colleagues from UEL and UCL, both experts in the evolutionary origins of ritual, gender, and the Neolithic symbolic revolution. The main results achieved were also discussed during the panel : „Rethinking gender in HG studies: is the connection with feminist perspectives lost?“, held in July 2018 at the CHAGS Conference XII.

Encouraged by the exchanges with organizers of the Conference, major efforts were directed towards adding the contributions of Indigenous feminist scholars (i.e Smith-Tuhiwai 1999; Moreton-Robinson 2000, 2011; Nakata 2007). Their analysis strongly focus on decolonizing knowledges, and offer an original counter-perspective of past hegemonic European linear narratives. A literature review on key notions was fundamental to gain a deeper understanding of what knowledge movements, and paradigm shifts entail. Differences between Archaeology and Anthropology also have been acknowledged, as the integration of feminist critics radically differ between the two.

WP2 was devoted to the analysis of a survey and a qualitative fieldwork (conducted in France) including archaeologists and anthropologists considering gender/feminist related issues differently (positivist vs interpretative approaches). The fieldwork is also informed by the organizational changes occurring in neighbor EU countries, and discussed with partners from the UOC in Barcelona. This collaboration gave rise to an open access publication focusing on the structural obstacles facing feminist research today when confronted with international competition. Analysis draw here on preliminary findings from the research project.

The survey and fieldwork analysis showed three forms of major and interdependent obstacles to employ gender as a critical category of analysis.
1) The first is epistemo-political and stronger in Archaeology. The conceptual problems involved in theorizing, the ongoing confusion between sex and gender, the controversies between “explicit feminism” and “gender archaeology” refusing to consider the political dimension of the discipline but also the dispute over objective science and situated knowledges constitute four epistemo-political aspects preventing the circulation of feminist knowledges.

2) Methodological challenges represent a second form of impediment. Overspecialization in Archaeology (for example the use of one method only such as DNA bones identification, or ceramic analysis), the great emphasis and social value attributed to technical knowledge and instruments over theoretical aspects often perceived as non-scientific, the absence of written data when studying HG past societies limit the adoption of feminist critics.

3) The third barrier relates to organizational aspects. An essential one being the rise of projectification having direct consequences on the division of academic labor. This aspect allowed to consider asymmetrical power structures within academia, and to better understand the neoliberal character of knowledge production. Projectification prevent scholars from dealing with social gendered complexities requiring more time for scientific investigation. In a particular area of research such as the HG and /or Indigenous studies, this implies that less time is available for reflecting data construction, going back to fieldwork when necessary, learning the language of a population, or addressing ethical issues towards the construction of alternative methods (i.e going beyond the use of HG populations as raw data producers). Confronting oneself with social gendered complexities (i.e the rise of prostitution and HIV/AIDS infection among some communities) and discussing the advancements of the scientific literature provided by Indigenous feminist schola

Final results

Beyond the state of the art.

The secondment at the Cornelia Goethe Center (Frankfurt/M. University) offered an appropriate environment for reinforcing the theoretical apparatus. A book proposal accepted by Barbara Budrich Publishers aims at encouraging feminist debates about the necessity to decolonize knowledge production.

Potential impact.

The knowledge generated by the project will provide a deeper understanding of the obstacles scholars face when integrating gender and a feminist perspective in their research. A Roadmap was also designed for the host institution to encourage gender in research content.

Website & more info

More info: https://gatherproject.wixsite.com/gather.