Theresa A. Singleton

Theresa A. Singleton
Born (1952-04-15) April 15, 1952 (age 72)
OccupationArchaeologist
Known forFirst African American woman to earn a doctorate in historical archaeology and African American history
Academic background
EducationTrinity Washington University (BA) University of Florida (MA, PhD)
Academic work
Main interestsArcheological Study of the African Diaspora, Slavery in the United States

Theresa A. Singleton is an American archaeologist and writer who focuses on the archaeology of African Americans, the African diaspora, and slavery in the United States. She is a leading archaeologist applying comparative approaches to the study of slavery in the Americas.[1] Singleton has been involved in the excavation of slave residences in the southern United States and in the Caribbean.[2][3] She is a professor of anthropology at Syracuse University, and serves as a curator for the National Museum of Natural History.[4]

Biography

Singleton was born in Charleston, South Carolina on April 15, 1952. She attended Bishop England High School, where she graduated in 1970. She earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree at Trinity Washington University, formerly known as Trinity College, majoring in anthropology-archaeology, in 1974. She then attended the University of Florida, where she earned her Master of Arts in anthropology.[5] In 1980, Singleton became the first African American woman to earn a doctorate in historical archaeology and African American history and culture from the University of Florida.[6] She began her research career by studying the Gullah-Geechee of coastal Georgia.[5]

In 1991, Singleton worked as an associate curator of historical archaeology for the Smithsonian Institution.[7] Singleton and Elizabeth Scott created the Gender and Minority Affairs Committee in the Society for Historical Archaeology.[8] In 2014, she became the first African American to be awarded the J.C. Harrington Award.[9]

Singleton has served on a number of editorial boards, including the International Journal of Historical Archaeology, Archaeologies (World Archaeological Congress), the Journal of African Diaspora Archaeology and Heritage, and over a dozen other professional boards and committees.[3]

Work

The Journal of American History called The Archaeology of Slavery and Plantation Life (1985), edited by Singleton, "a notably coherent group of papers that allow historians to look in new and stimulating directions to analyze the past."[10] Singleton also edited I, Too, Am American: Archaeological Studies of African American Life (1999) which tells "the story of anonymous black Americans, forgotten in written records."[11]

Singleton's book, Slavery Behind the Wall: An Archaeology of a Cuban Coffee Plantation (2015), is a monograph that situates her excavations at the Cuban coffee plantation of Cafetal Biajacas within the comparative context of Caribbean coffee and sugar plantations.[12]

Bibliography (selected)

  • The Archaeology of Slavery and Plantation Life. Orlando, FL: Academic Press. 1985. ISBN 9780126464801.(editor)
  • Singleton, Theresa A. (1990). "The Archaeology of the Plantation South: A Review of Approaches and Goals". Historical Archaeology. 24 (4): 70–77. doi:10.1007/BF03373498. JSTOR 25616051. S2CID 163830922.
  • The Archaeology of the African Diaspora in the Americas. Ann Arbor, MI: Society for Historical Archaeology. 1995. ISBN 9781886818002.
  • Singleton, Theresa A. (1997). "Facing the Challenges of a Public African-American Archaeology". Historical Archaeology. 31 (3): 146–152. doi:10.1007/BF03374238. JSTOR 25616556.
  • 'I, Too, Am America': Archaeological Studies of African American Life. Charlottesville: University of Press of Virginia. 1999. ISBN 9780813918426. (editor)
  • Singleton, Theresa (1999-04-01). "The Slave Trade Remembered on the Former Gold and Slave Coasts". Slavery & Abolition. 20 (1): 150–169. doi:10.1080/01440399908575273. ISSN 0144-039X.
  • Slavery Behind the Wall: An Archaeology of a Cuban Coffee Plantation. with Paul A. Shackel. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. 2015. ISBN 9780813060729.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)

References

  1. ^ Carbondale., Southern Illinois university at (2014). The archaeology of slavery : a comparative approach to captivity and coercion. Southern Illinois University Press. ISBN 978-0-8093-3397-4. OCLC 942745991.
  2. ^ "Archaeology Lecture Set March 31". Indiana Gazette. 19 June 1987. Retrieved 11 October 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "Theresa Singleton, Professor, Anthropology". The Maxwell School of Syracuse University. 2009-03-18. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
  4. ^ J.C. Harrington Medal in Historical Archaeology: Theresa A. Singleton
  5. ^ a b Botwick, Bradford (July 2018). "Gullah-Geechee settlement patterns from slavery to freedom: Investigation of a Georgia plantation slave quarter". North American Archaeologist. 39 (3): 198–228. doi:10.1177/0197693118793795. ISSN 0197-6931. S2CID 165182377.
  6. ^ Riley, Ricky (9 July 2015). "6 Black Archaeologists and Anthropologists You Should Know About". Blerds. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  7. ^ Seaberry, Jane (September 28, 1991). "Ancient Indian Village Found at Mason Neck". The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  8. ^ "Establishing the Society of Black Archaeologists". Society for Historical Archaeology. 23 April 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  9. ^ "Theresa Singleton, PhD". Black Science Network. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  10. ^ Stephens, Janette E. (December 1986). "The Archaeology of Slavery and Plantation Life. Ed. by Theresa A. Singleton". The Journal of American History. 73 (3): 753–754. doi:10.2307/1903025. JSTOR 1903025.
  11. ^ Fagan, Brian (June 2000). "Reviewed Work: "I, Too, Am American": Archaeological Studies of African American Life by Theresa Singleton". International Journal of African Historical Studies. 33 (2): 459–460. doi:10.2307/220718. JSTOR 220718.
  12. ^ A., Singleton, Theresa (2016). Slavery Behind the Wall : an Archaeology of a Cuban Coffee Plantation. University Press of Florida. ISBN 978-0-8130-5973-0. OCLC 1002696004.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)