A Somali Archeologist? C'mmon! Well yes - she is Somali, female and an archaeologist.
But, why would we be surprised to find a Somalian archaeologist? The simple reason is that many of us have also bought into the "Single story" about our own countries, as Chimamanda Adichie so aptly put it in her excellent TED Talk. So we fall prey to the same stereotypes we claim to fight, when we think about Somalia only in terms of pirates and Black Hawk Down. But, maybe we can start changing that at TEDxEuston 2012...where we will be challenging conventional wisdom on several aspects of our continent.
Sada Mire is an archaeologist from Somalia. She lived the first fifteen years of her life in Mogadishu, until 1991, when she settled in Sweden, as a result of the conflict in north-east Africa. In order to learn about the history of her new society, she studied archaeology and zoo-archaeology at Lund University. She continued at the School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), University of London, for her B.A., and then attended University College London (UCL) for her M.A. and Ph.D., conducting field research in Somaliland. Sada is currently advisor to former Director of the Republic of Somaliland’s Department of Tourism & Archaeology, which she founded in 2007. She is founder and executive director of the Horn Heritage Organization. Sada is a research associate at SOAS, UEA and UCL. Sada has conducted fieldwork in several European and African countries – from the U.K. and Denmark to Kenya and Egypt, as well as lecturing at universities. In the last five years, she and her team have made many archaeological discoveries which feature in her numerous articles and chapters in international scientific publications, such as the African Archaeological Review and Antiquity, as well as in the popular media, e.g. Discover Magazine and New Scientist. She serves as an editorial board member of the peer-reviewed journals, Heritage & Society and Southern African Archaeological Bulletin. Sada believes that cultural heritage is a basic human need. Follow Sada on Twitter @SomaliHeritage
But, why would we be surprised to find a Somalian archaeologist? The simple reason is that many of us have also bought into the "Single story" about our own countries, as Chimamanda Adichie so aptly put it in her excellent TED Talk. So we fall prey to the same stereotypes we claim to fight, when we think about Somalia only in terms of pirates and Black Hawk Down. But, maybe we can start changing that at TEDxEuston 2012...where we will be challenging conventional wisdom on several aspects of our continent.
Sada Mire is an archaeologist from Somalia. She lived the first fifteen years of her life in Mogadishu, until 1991, when she settled in Sweden, as a result of the conflict in north-east Africa. In order to learn about the history of her new society, she studied archaeology and zoo-archaeology at Lund University. She continued at the School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), University of London, for her B.A., and then attended University College London (UCL) for her M.A. and Ph.D., conducting field research in Somaliland. Sada is currently advisor to former Director of the Republic of Somaliland’s Department of Tourism & Archaeology, which she founded in 2007. She is founder and executive director of the Horn Heritage Organization. Sada is a research associate at SOAS, UEA and UCL. Sada has conducted fieldwork in several European and African countries – from the U.K. and Denmark to Kenya and Egypt, as well as lecturing at universities. In the last five years, she and her team have made many archaeological discoveries which feature in her numerous articles and chapters in international scientific publications, such as the African Archaeological Review and Antiquity, as well as in the popular media, e.g. Discover Magazine and New Scientist. She serves as an editorial board member of the peer-reviewed journals, Heritage & Society and Southern African Archaeological Bulletin. Sada believes that cultural heritage is a basic human need. Follow Sada on Twitter @SomaliHeritage
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