Kirby Farah
Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology
Gettysburg College
Email: kfarah@gettysburg.edu
Curriculum Vitae
March 2021
Current Academic Employment
2020-Present
Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, Gettysburg College
Education
2017
Ph.D., Anthropology, University of California, Riverside
Dissertation: Leadership and Community Identity at Postclassic Xaltocan, Mexico
2011
M.A., Anthropology, University of California, Riverside
2009
B.A. Anthropology and Art History, University of Texas at Austin
Grants and Fellowships
Fellowships:
2015
Dumbarton Oaks Summer Fellowship - Precolumbian Studies
2011-2014
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship ($124,000)
External Funding:
2017-2018
Wenner-Gren Engaged Anthropology Grant ($5,000)
2015
UC-Mexus Dissertation Research Grant, # DG-14-62 ($10,720)
2014-2015
Wenner-Gren Dissertation Fieldwork Grant, #8879 ($19,718)
2014-2015
National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant, #BCS 1419202 ($24,940)
Internal Funding:
2017
Propes Conference Grant, University of California, Riverside ($320)
2012-2013
CHASS Graduate Student Research Grant from the University of California, Riverside ($1,400)
2010-2011
Chancellor's Distinguished Fellowship from the University of California, Riverside ($28,749)
2007-2008
Kemp-Forman Memorial Endowed Presidential Scholarship, University of Texas, Austin ($2,500)
Publications
Peer-reviewed Journal Articles:
2021
Farah, Kirby “Prioritizing the Past: Archaeological Research and Perceptions of Patrimony at Xaltocan, Mexico” Journal of Community Archaeology & Heritage. DOI:10.1080/20518196.2021.1894766. Link to Article
2020
Farah, Kirby “Treasured Trash: The Use and Significance of Ceramic Fragments in Elite Ritual Contexts at Postclassic Xaltocan, Mexico” Ancient Mesoamerica. DOI:10.1017/S0956536120000024. Link to Article
2019
Farah, Kirby “Constructing a Kingdom: Architectural Strategies and the Nature of Leadership at Postclassic Xaltocan, Mexico” Journal of Social Archaeology. 19(1):92-115. DOI:10.1177/1469605318795519. Link to Article
2018
Farah, Kirby, and Kenneth Seligson. From Crystal Skulls to the Caste War: Intersections of Tourism, Archaeology and Heritage in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Anthropology Now 10(2):24-36. DOI:10.1080/19428200.2018.1493848. Link to Article
2018
Seligson, Kenneth, and Kirby Farah. Engaging the Brown Fedora: Archaeology, Education and Popular Media. Anthropology Now 10(2):56-68. DOI:10.1080/19428200.2018.1494459. Link to Article
Book Chapters:
2019
Farah, Kirby “La Formación de un Reino” In La Historia y Arqueología de Xaltocan, edited by Christopher Morehart, Kristin De Lucia, and Enrique Rodriguez.
In press (expected 2021)
Farah, Kirby “The Light Burned Brightly: New Fire Ceremonies in Postclassic central Mexico” In Night and Darkness in Mexico and Central America, edited by Nancy Gonlin and David Reed, University of Colorado Press, Boulder.
In Press (expected 2022)
Farah, Kirby and Susan Toby Evans “The Aztec New Fire Ceremony and the Illumination of the Night” In City Nights: Archaeology of Night, Darkness, and Luminosity in Ancient Urban Environments, edited by Nancy Gonlin and Meghan E. Strong. University of Colorado Press, Boulder.
Public Media and News ArticleS:
2019
Farah, Kirby “Day of the Dead: From Aztec goddess worship to modern Mexican celebration” The Conversation, October 28, 2019. Link to Article
2019
Farah, Kirby “Americans celebrate Cinco de Mayo, but few know what it means” The Conversation, May 3, 2019. Link to Article
Book Reviews:
2020
Farah, Kirby “Review: Arnold, Dean E. Maya potters' indigenous knowledge: cognition, engagement, and practice” Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. 26: 903-904.
Link to Review
Technical Reports:
2019
Farah, Kirby “Proyecto Arqueológico de Xaltocan-Elite: Informe de la Temporada de Campo Julio 2014-Diciembre 2014” Presentado al Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, D.F., Mexico.
2011
Trachman, Rissa M., Kirby Farah, Thomas Ewing, and Jana Murdock “Summary Report for Investigations at the Site of Dos Hombres and the Surrounding Settlement” The 2010 Field Season. In Research Reports from the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project, Volume Five, edited by Brett A. Houk and Fred Valdez, Jr., pp. 235-242. Occasional Papers 12, Mesoamerican Archaeological Research Laboratory. The University of Texas at Austin.
2010
Hyde, David M., Kirby Farah, and Alexandra Smith “Research Results of Investigations at Group A of the Medicinal Trail Site” The 2009 Field Season. In Research Reports from the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project, Volume Four, edited by David M. Hyde and Fred Valdez, Jr., pp. 41-48. Occasional Papers 11, Mesoamerican Archaeological Research Laboratory. The University of Texas at Austin.
2009
Hyde, David M., Kirby Farah, and Alexandra Smith “Research Results of the 2009 Field Season at Group A of the Medicinal Trail Site. In Programme for Belize Archaeological Project: Summary Report of the 2009 Investigations, edited by Fred Valdez, Jr., pp. 40-44. Report submitted to the Institute of Archaeology, National Institute of Culture and History, Belmopan, Belize.
Conferences and Invited Talks
CONFERENCES ORGANIZED:
2019
Southern California Mesoamerica Network Annual Conference: “New Directions in Mesoamerican Research” Hosted at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, November 16, 2019.
Invited Talks:
2017
“Critical Cultural Heritage and the Ethics of Archaeological Research” Organized by the Anthropology Club at Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, November 7, 2017.
2017
“Catching Fire: Ritual Practice Among the Leaders of Postclassic Xaltocan, Mexico” Organized by the Department of Anthropology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, February 27, 2017.
Discussant:
2017
Section on Space and Place in Mesoamerica, at the 37th Annual James C. Young Colloquium: Space, Places, and Faces: Papers in Honor of Dr. Wendy Ashmore in Riverside, California, April 15, 2017.
Panels Organized:
2014
“Archaeology Beyond Borders: Current investigations by Mexican and American Researchers” Co-organized with Julie Wesp for the 79th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology in Austin, Texas, April 23-27, 2014.
Papers Presented:
2019
Farah, Kirby “Bright Light in the Big City: The Aztec New Fire Ceremony and the Drama of Darkness.” Paper presented at the 84th Annual Meeting of the Society of American Archaeology in Albuquerque, New Mexico, April 10-14, 2019.
2018
Farah, Kirby “The Nature of Leadership and Community Cohesion at Postclassic Xaltocan, Mexico”. Paper presented at the 83rd Annual Meeting of the Society of American Archaeology in Washington, D.C., April 11-15, 2018.
2017
Farah, Kirby “Big changes in little places: examining the impacts of the Aztec conquest on local leadership at Late Postclassic Xaltocan, Mexico”. Paper presented at the 82nd Annual Meeting of the Society of American Archaeology in Vancouver, British Columbia, March 29-April 2, 2017.
2017
Farah, Kirby “A Single Beam Cannot Support a Great House: Examining Community Dynamics and the Power Strategies of Leaders at Postclassic, Xaltocan”. Paper presented at the Southern California Mesoamerica Network Conference in Los Angeles, California, March 5, 2017.
2016
Farah, Kirby “Reevaluating class at Postclassic Xaltocan, Mexico”. Paper presented at the 36th Annual James C. Young Colloquium: Knowledge Production, Theory and Standpoint: Papers in Honor of Dr. Thomas C. Patterson in Riverside, California, March 18, 2016.
2016
Farah, Kirby “Palace and Home: Examining the production and expression of elite identity at Postclassic Xaltocan, Mexico”. Paper presented at the 6th Annual UCLA Interdisciplinary Archaeology Research Conference: Fitting in or Opting Out: Exploring Identity and Personhood in the Past in Los Angeles, California, February 6, 2016
2014
Farah, Kirby “Finding common ground: a comparative of study of elite and commoner domestic practices at Postclassic Xaltocan”. Paper presented at the 79th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology in Austin, Texas, April 23-27, 2014.
2012
Leventhal, Richard, Kirby Farah and Randi Ragsdale. “The Caste War of the Yucatan: Heritage and Economic Development” Paper presented at the 77th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology in Memphis, Tennessee, April 18-22, 2012.
2011
Farah, Kirby "Past, Present and Future: Archaeology of Maya Water and Land
Management”. Paper presented at the 76th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology in Sacramento, California, March 30-April 3, 2011.
2011
Trachman, Rissa, Kirby Farah, and Thomas Ewing: “Water to Power: Tracing Notions of Management from an Ancient Water System in Northwestern Belize”, Paper presented at the 76th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology in Sacramento, California, March 30-April 3, 2011.
Posters Presented:
2015
Farah, Kirby “An Elite Ceramic Tradition at Postclassic Xaltocan.” In poster session: “Comparative Approaches to Postclassic Mesoamerican Ceramics”, Poster presented at the 80th Annual Meeting of the Society of American Archaeology in San Francisco, California, April 15-19, 2015.
On-Campus Talks:
2018
“The Adaptive and Adoptive Nature of Aztec Religion” Organized by the Department of Religion for the Feed Your Mind Series at the University of Southern California. March 21, 2018.
2017
“Rewriting the Past: Collaborative Archaeology and Evaluating the Social Value of Heritage at Xaltocan, Mexico” Organized by the Department of Anthropology at The University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, November 16, 2017.
Teaching Interests
Mesoamerican Archaeology, Public Archaeology and Community-Engaged Research, Cultural Heritage, Environmental Archaeology, Archaeology of New World Empires, Digital Methods in Anthropology and Archaeology. Please see Course Syllabi for more.
Research Interests
Mesoamerican archaeology, Postclassic central Mexico, Aztec culture and history, architectural interpretation, cultural heritage, community-engaged archaeology, archaeology of communities, practice theory, social identity, class and status, social memory and commemoration
Recent Research Projects
2019-present
Principal Investigator/Director, Proyecto Patrimonio Xaltocan
2017
Director, Las Actividades Rituales de Los Gobernantes de Xaltocan: A Community Museum Project, funded by the Wenner Gren Foundation (Engaged Anthropology Grant)
2014-2015
Principal Investigator/Director, Proyecto Arqueológico de Xaltocan Élite, with permission from Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia and cooperation from Universidad Nacional de México Autónoma
Service
2019-2020
Caucus Member, Dornsife Faculty Council caucus on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
2019-2020
Committee Member, USC Department of Anthropology Curriculum Committee
2018-2020
Organizer, SoCal Mesoamerica Netowrk
2018-2020
Curriculum Committee Member, USC Department of Anthropology
2018
Review Committee, USC Masters in Visual Anthropology Program
2018
Organizer, RAI International Festival of Ethnographic Film at USC
2018
Search Committee Member, Society of Fellows at USC
2017-present
Faculty Mentor, Society for Trojan Archaeologists