Meagan K. Conway
Email: [email protected]
Education:
B.A., Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, 2008
M.A., Historical Archaeology, University of Massachusetts Boston, 2011
Subfield:
Historical Archaeology
Research Interests:
comparative colonialism, diaspora studies, coastal adaptation, materialization identity, household
dynamics
M.A. Thesis Title:
An Emptying Village: Transformations in Architecture and Spatial Organization at Streamstown Village,
Co. Galway
M.A. Thesis Committee
Dr. Stephen Silliman (Chair), University of Massachusetts Boston
Dr. Ian Kuijt, University of Notre Dame
Dr. Stephen Mrozowski, University of Massachusetts Boston
M.A. Thesis Abstract
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Ireland was a country of instability. The population
rose rapidly, and traditional farming practices shifted to accommodate the rapidly changing population
in addition to incorporating and almost entirely depending on a new crop, the potato. A spattering of
famine years culminating in the Great Famine of 1847-1850 created an unstable environment for rural
Irish farmers and factored into massive depopulation of the western counties. Abandonment of the
western counties created dozens of empty villages across the landscape, the majority of which are
comprised of stone structures located in farmland and in varying degrees of preservation. This thesis
examines the impact of political and social change on spatial organization during the second half of the
nineteenth century at a one such village at Streamstown, Co. Galway.
This investigation aims to 1) establish that houses are important representations of social identity and
indicators of community organization, 2) investigate the nature of vernacular architecture and
rebuilding and reuse of structures, and 3) examine the role of architecture and community organization
in the nature of gradual village abandonment and seek broader implications for archaeological studies of
abandonment. It examines these changes in the context of national mandates concerning farming
practices and lifeways and the implementation of these mandates on a local and individual scale. It
further examines the complex processes of community abandonment, continued use of structures postabandonment, and the practices of rebuilding and reuse that characterize many of the vernacular
structures in this area. Changing spatial organization and modifications in vernacular architecture
reflects shifting practices of land use and modifications of traditional systems to cope with the shifting
social environment and a decreasing labor force. This change is considered on the individual,
community, and national scale.
Teaching Experience:
Teaching Assistant, ANTH 307, Cultures of Africa, University of South Carolina, Fall 2012
Teaching Assistant, ANTH 322, Field School, University of South Carolina, Spring 2013
Assistantships:
Research Assistant, Dr. Meredith Chesson, University of Notre Dame, Fall 2007-Spring 2008
Research Assistant, Research Center for Urban Cultural History, University of Massachusetts Boston, Fall
2008-Spring 2010
Fieldwork:
Summer 2006. Colonial Williamsburg Archaeological Project.
July 2007. Bova Marina Archaeological Project.
August 2007. West Halton Archaeological Project.
July 2009. Eastern Pequot Archaeological Project.
July 2010. Munroe Tavern Archaeological Project.
June 2008-June 2012. Cultural Landscapes of the Irish Coast Project.
Professional Affiliations:
Society for Historical Archaeology
Society for American Archaeology
Awards:
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, University of Notre Dame, Spring 2006 –
“Williamsburg Architecture: The Colonial Transition to Permanency, Part I", $1500
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, University of Notre Dame, Fall 2006 – “Williamsburg
Architecture: The Colonial Transition to Permanency, Part II", $1500
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, University of Notre Dame, Spring 2007 – “Bova Marina
Archaeological Project: Bronze Age Research”, $1500
Professional Development Grant, University of Massachusetts Boston, Spring 2009, $500
Graduate Student Association, University of South Carolina, International Travel Grant, Fall 2012, $1000
Presentations:
November 2006. Williamsburg Architecture: The Colonial Transition to Permanency by Meagan Conway.
Poster Presented at 105th American Anthropological Association Conference. San Jose, CA.
July 2008. Breathing Life into Stone: Architecture and Life at Streamstown Village near Clifden, Co.
Galway by Meagan Conway, Ian Kuijt, Colin Quinn, and Nathan Goodale. Poster presented at 6th World
Archaeological Congress. Dublin, Ireland.
April 2009. Life During the Irish Famine: Perspectives on Community and Household Organization at
Streamstown Village, Co. Galway by Meagan Conway and Ian Kuijt. Poster presented at 74th Meeting for
the Society for American Archaeology. Atlanta, GA.
January 2010. Formalizing Space: Patterns of Continuity and Change on Streamstown Bay, Co. Galway,
Ireland by Meagan Conway and Ian Kuijt. Paper presented at 43rd Annual Conference for Historical and
Underwater Archaeology. Jacksonville, FL.
April 2010. Living on the Ridge: Understanding Streamstown village, near Clifden, Co. Galway, Ireland by
Meagan Conway. Poster presented at 75th Meeting for the Society for American Archaeology. St. Louis,
MO.
January 2011. Micro Histories and Lifeways: Oral History and the Documentation of Household Daily Life
on Inishark, Ireland by Casey McNeill, Meagan Conway, Alissa Nauman, Claire Brown, and Ian Kuijt.
Paper presented at 44th Annual Conference for Historical and Underwater Archaeology. Austin, TX.
January 2011. Shifting the Stones: Complexities of Nineteenth Century Village Abandonment at
Streamstown Bay by Meagan Conway. Paper presented at 44th Annual Conference for Historical and
Underwater Archaeology. Austin, TX.
April 2011. Microhistories and Residential Genealogies of Domestic Life on Inishark, Co. Galway by Casey
McNeill, Meagan Conway, Claire Brown, and Ian Kuijt. Poster presented at 76th Meeting for the Society
for American Archaeology. Sacramento, CA.
April 2011. Transatlantic Irish Immigration: A Case Study from Early 20th Century Inishark, Co. Galway by
Meagan Conway, Casey McNeill, Katherine Shakour, and Ian Kuijt. Poster presented at 76th Meeting for
the Society for American Archaeology. Sacramento, CA.
September 2011. Transatlantic Irish Immigration: A Case Study from Early 20th Century Inishark, Co.
Galway by Meagan Conway, Casey McNeill, Katherine Shakour, and Ian Kuijt. Midwest Historical
Archaeology Conference. East Lansing, MI.
September 2011. Unearthed Potential and Whispered Voices: Community Archaeology on a 19th Century
Irish Fishing Village by Katherine Shakour, Meagan Conway, Casey McNeill, Ian Kuijt, and Meredith
Chesson. Poster presented at Midwest Historical Archaeology Conference. East Lansing, MI.
April 2012. Beneath the 'Silent' Stones: Excavations at the McGreal House, Inishark, Co. Galway by
Meagan Conway, Casey McNeill, and Ian Kuijt. Poster presented at 77th Meeting for the Society for
American Archaeology. Memphis, TN.
January 2013. Exploring Transatlantic Connections: Sustaining Irish Island Communities in Early 20th
Century America by Meagan Conway, Ian Kuijt, Casey McNeill, and Katherine Shakour. Paper presented
at 46th Annual Conference for Historical and Underwater Archaeology. Leicester, UK.
January 2013. The Living Village: Time Slices and Residential Shifts, 1800-1960, Inishark, Ireland by Ian
Kuijt, Meagan Conway, Alissa Nauman, Katherine Shakour, Claire Brown, and John O’Neill, J. Paper
presented at 46th Annual Conference for Historical and Underwater Archaeology. Leicester, UK.