Archaeology of Unchecked Capitalism

Paul Shackel is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Maryland. His research projects have focused on the role of archaeology in civic engagement activities related to race and labor. A sample of his work on this topic includes: New Philadelphia: An Archaeology of Race in the Heartland (2011), and a coauthored volume with Barbara Little - Archaeology, Heritage and Civic Engagement: Working toward the Public Good (2014).  He recently published Remembering Lattimer: Migration, Labor, and Race in Pennsylvania Anthracite Country (2018) which focuses on labor and migration in northern Appalachia in the United States.

“Highly recommended.” • Choice“This is an important and insightful book that demonstrates how social injustice is perpetuated in the legacy of exploitation in the past and our failure to protect developing nations from the same fate in the present.” • Antiquity“This is a magnificent book and deserves to be widely read. At a time when many people around the world are losing faith in politicians and American global leadership it illustrates how historical archaeology can connect past and present and reveals how the ‘slow violence’ of industrial capitalism has devastated landscapes and continues to blight the lives of transgenerational global communities.” • James Symonds, University of Amsterdam

• List of IllustrationsPrefaceIntroductionChapter 1. The History of Race in the Anthracite Coal RegionChapter 2. An Archaeology of Immigration, Race, and Poverty in the Anthracite Coal RegionChapter 3. Historic Trauma: Health and Well-Being in Northeastern PennsylvaniaChapter 4. Offshoring the Textile Industry and TragedyChapter 5. Offshoring Mining Industries and TragedyConclusion: Difficult Histories are a Reality in the PresentReferences