Archaeology and Community Service Learning

In recent years, a number of archaeologists have begun making concerted attempts to reach out and engage the public in their work. This collection examines how the field can successfully incorporate community service learning (CSL) into its pedagogies to broaden and enhance learning opportunities for students, promote civic engagement, and embrace community partnerships. Editors Michael Nassaney and Mary Ann Levine have been actively integrating the techniques of CSL into their research for years, and view it as a natural outgrowth of developments in the field since the 1970s. Although archaeology has long emphasized a practical, field-based approach in training new scholars, CSL moves beyond 'volunteering' and experiential learning. In discussing specific examples from work in historical archaeology, the contributors highlight the achievements and challenges faced by archaeologists and their students, in the classroom and the field, while collaborating with a variety of community partners.