Last week marked two years since the announced closure of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Sheffield (UK). This Department of Archaeology has stood at the forefront of the discipline for the past 50 years, leaving an indelible mark on the field in various areas. Sheffield’s dept. influence is global, its strength and leadership have enormously contributed to shape many teams and departments across the globe, including GIAP.
We would like to share an email we recently received, updating us regarding the current situation:
“Since many of you have supported us in our campaign, I would like to update you regarding the current situation of our Department of Archaeology at the University of Sheffield (UK). The occasion for that is that yesterday marked two years since our Vice Chancellor told us that the Department would be closed. This happened in a 12-minute online meeting, in which we were not allowed to speak or show our video cameras. It was truly a “1984” moment!
As you know we fought a hard battle against this decision and eventually, we won some limited concessions. As a consequence, the Department is currently still open and will still be so next year, though we are no longer recruiting undergraduate students.
Additionally, those of us lucky enough to be on ‘permanent’ jobs, will not be made redundant but rather moved to other departments (starting with the academic year 2024-5). We were given two possibilities – either moving to the Dept of History or the School of Biosciences. The Zooarchaeology, Geoarchaeology and Palaeoanthropology areas will be moving to the latter and we are determined to make our collaboration with our biology colleagues a success. We are resilient and helped by a great network of local, national, and international friends and collaborators. We have never stopped our activities and have remained very active in teaching, research and community engagement, despite the treble whammy of the closure, Brexit, and Covid. Even in the most difficult circumstances and the continuous attempt of the university management to destroy us, we have remained determined to keep going. The complete preservation of our laboratories and reference collections is now a top priority.
Having said that, we should not forget that one of the best-renowned departments of archaeology in the world has been dilapidated and that maintaining the integrity of the discipline at the University of Sheffield is going to be a massive challenge from now on.
We must not forget what has happened, to make sure that such reckless actions are not repeated at the expense of other colleagues. For this reason, we will continue to fight our fight and make the university management accountable for their actions. And this is where we could do with your help.
Yesterday we posted a few relevant memories from our campaign of the last two years on our social media pages. It would be tremendously helpful if you could help us to spread the word. You can find us on Facebook (as “Save Sheffield Archaeology”) but we also have Twitter and Instagram accounts for the @ZooarchLabSheff. Please do like and share our recent messages. Even if you are not on social media, you can still use our youtube links to post wherever you see fit (see the zooarch lab youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@sheffieldzooarchaeologylab2624). Our Department may be lost but we do have a responsibility to protect both our discipline and the wider world. This attack on culture and education must not be forgotten because, otherwise, history will soon repeat itself.
Thank you”
Together, let’s raise awareness and condemn this disheartening situation, which extends beyond Sheffield’s Department of Archaeology. In the last decade, numerous archaeology and humanities departments in the UK have been closed, merged, or downsized. This is a result of reduced investment in the arts and humanities and the business-oriented nature of British universities, which now prioritize treating students as customers over academic excellence.
Our utmost support goes out to our colleagues in the UK as they strive to halt this alarming trend that is devaluing and undermining the importance of archaeology and humanities departments. Together, we stand in solidarity to preserve the integrity of these disciplines and ensure a brighter future for academic excellence.
