Alison Wylie facts for kids

Alison Wylie (born in 1954) is a Canadian philosopher. She studies how we think about archaeology, which is the study of human history through digging up old things.

She is a professor of philosophy at the University of British Columbia. She also holds a special research position called a Canada Research Chair. This means she is a leading expert in the philosophy of social and historical sciences.

Wylie is an expert in the philosophy of science. This field explores how science works and how we gain knowledge. She also focuses on research ethics, which are rules for doing research fairly. Another area she studies is feminism in social sciences, especially in archaeology and anthropology.

Early Life and Education

Alison Wylie was born in 1954 in Swindon, England. She grew up in Canada. She earned her first degree in Philosophy and Sociology in 1976 from Mount Allison University.

Later, she studied at Binghamton University. There, she received a master's degree in anthropology in 1979. She then earned her PhD in philosophy in 1982. Her PhD paper was called Positivism and the New Archeology. It was guided by her advisor, Rom Harré.

Academic Career

Professor Wylie has taught at many universities. These include the University of Western Ontario (1985–1998) and Washington University in St. Louis (1998–2003). She also taught at Barnard College/Columbia University (2003–2005) and the University of Washington (2005–2017). From 2013 to 2017, she was at Durham University.

She has also been a visiting professor at many other places. These include the Australian National University and Stanford University. She also visited the École des hautes études en sciences sociales in Paris. Currently, she is a professor in the philosophy department at the University of British Columbia.

Wylie helped lead a committee for the Society for American Archaeology (SAA). This committee worked on rules for ethics in archaeology. These rules help archaeologists do their work responsibly. The SAA gave her a special award in 1995 for this important work.

She was also a senior editor for Hypatia, A Journal of Feminist Philosophy. She worked there from 2008 to 2013. In 2013, the Society for Women in Philosophy named her the Distinguished Woman Philosopher of the year.

She served as president of the Pacific Division of the American Philosophical Association. This was from 2011 to 2012. She was also president of the Philosophy of Science Association from 2019 to 2020. In November 2019, she became a fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. This is a special honor.

Professor Wylie has given many important lectures. These include the Alan Saunders Memorial Lecture in 2019. She also gave the Dewey Lecture in 2017. These lectures are often given by leading experts in their fields.

Selected Works

Alison Wylie has written many books and articles. Her work often explores how archaeologists find and use evidence. She also writes about how different viewpoints, like feminist ideas, can help us understand science better.

Books:

• In 2016, she co-wrote Evidential Reasoning in Archaeology. This book is about how archaeologists use evidence.
• In 2015, she co-edited Material Evidence, Learning from Archaeological Practice. This book looks at what we learn from archaeological work.
• She also wrote Thinking From Things: Essays in the Philosophy of Archaeology in 2002. This book shares her ideas on the philosophy of archaeology.
• She has co-edited books on ethics in archaeology. These include Ethics in American Archaeology (1995).
• She also co-edited books about challenges for women in academia. These include Breaking Anonymity (1995) and Equity Issues for Women in Archaeology (1994).

Articles and Chapters: Wylie has written many articles in academic journals. Her articles cover topics like:

• How different groups work together in archaeology.
• The role of models in archaeological research.
• How feminist ideas help shape archaeology.
• The importance of different perspectives in science.
• How archaeological evidence can be used in new ways.
• Ethical questions in archaeology, such as how to deal with cultural items.

See Also

In Spanish: Alison Wylie para niños

• Hypatia transracialism controversy