Sydney Benning's Preliminary Examination

Today archaeological investigations and interpretive work produce both tangible and intangible cultural and scientific material that are invaluable to not just archaeologists, but a wide array of stakeholder populations. Because of the socially charged nature of archaeological and related cultural material, or cultural heritage, it is important that control over such resources is considered from an equitable standpoint. However, despite the importance of equitable access to archaeological and cultural data, in reality access to archaeological data is often limited. Despite a growing movement toward open data and improved data sharing efforts within the social sciences at large, as well as increased attention to the creation of systems to facilitate access within archaeology, these efforts have yet to see significant success, especially where non-professional populations are concerned. To contend with this issue, this dissertation aims to understand the perspective of both professional and non-professional stakeholders of archaeological data, with an emphasis on the access capability of stakeholders outside-of-the-profession (ASOP). Relying on a mixed-methods approach, the proposed project looks within and across stakeholder groups to identify current contexts/instances of engagement with archaeological data along with the motivations and deterrents that inspire or mediate such engagements. Adapting a capability approach framework derived from Broek et als. (2023, 2025) work on adult learning, the proposed research seeks to develop a multidimensional framework for contextualizing access behavior and the access capability of particular stakeholder groups within/across key archaeological data contexts (ADC’s). The resulting framework will ultimately support future research aimed at creating/facilitating equitable access points for diverse archaeological stakeholders.

Questions? Contact Sydney Benning.