Thread by @JamesRAllison

I just got back from #SAA2019 , and I have very mixed feelings. I was too busy to fully enjoy it, but I still got to hear about interesting archaeology and had a good time catching up with friends, former students, former students' babies, etc. 1/10

But clearly my experience @ #SAA2019 was not shared by many who attended. In particular, the presence of a serial sexual harasser and the failure of the society to deal with him in a prompt and open way was hugely upsetting to many, and not only the women he harrassed. 2/10

I am also aware of women who didn't attend #SAA2019 at all because they didn't want to see certain people. I don't know those situations well enough to be sure of their reasons, but it doesn't take much imagination to guess why. 3/10

I can understand from the point of view of the society leadership that some of these situations can be difficult. They can't ban people based on rumours, and they can't be aware of every situation. #SAA2019 4/10

But the Yesner case was well publicized, his own university had banned him from campus, they had complaints from the women who survived his abuse, etc. #SAA2019 5/10

Again I understand that some of these situations will be difficult for the organization to deal with, but it's hard to imagine one that would be more clearcut. This should have been easy. #SAA2019 6/10

So the one thing I want to hear from society leadership is this: Why was this difficult? #SAA2019 7/10

Actually, that's not the only thing I want to hear. I want to know what the society will do to make sure this doesn't happen. But I don't know why any of us should trust SAA to do anything, if they can't even deal with a clearcut case with an easy, obvious solution. SAA2019 8/10

So maybe we need to all make some changes and not count on SAA leadership to do anything. I think it starts with being more professional: for one, stop valorizing drinking as an essential part of archaeologists' identity; #SAA2019 9/10

And men in the field need to see all the brilliant young women at conferences, or working on field projects, or in your classes, as colleagues or potential colleagues. They might be there to learn from you (maybe), but they aren't there to hook up with you. #SAA2019 10/10

It's 2019. Any man who can't deal professionally with women in the profession needs to retire or get forced out. And it doesn't matter what you've done or how smart you are. #SAA2019