Emily Hanscam
ResearcherOriginally from Alaska, I have a PhD in Archaeology from Durham University (2019), a MA in Social Archaeology with Distinction from the University of Southampton (2014), and a BA in Anthropology and History from Whitman College (2012). Most recently I have worked for the University of Amsterdam as a Lecturer in Archaeology (2020-2021) and provided editorial and media support for Antiquity Journal (2018-2020). My research at Linnaeus University is supported by the Crafoord Foundation, the LNU Centre for Concurrences, the UNESCO Chair on Heritage Futures, and the Linnaeus Knowledge Environment: Digital Transformations.
My research background is in Roman frontier archaeology, having spent a decade excavating and managing a volunteer-based fieldwork project at Halmyris, on the Lower Danube frontier in Romania. I am interested in the politics of the past, nationalism, critical heritage and the potentials of archaeology to build a more inclusive and just future. I am the current Editor of the Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal (2024-).
My current project, New Romans, utilizes the digital humanities to research the sociopolitical contexts of references to Classical Antiquity in the United States, exploring the possible significance of a critically understood Classical tradition for negotiating the future of American society. I am also working on Digital Excavations, funded by the LNU KE Digital Transformations, which in collaboration with Computer Science applies techniques from the Digital Humanities to the corpus of Antiquity, a journal of world archaeology, to develop a more quantitative understanding of the development of archaeological discourse.
Teaching
MA thesis supervisor & examiner for Digital Humanities, History, Archaeology and Media & Communication Studies.
2025-2026: Course convenor for the Swedish Landscape
2024-2026: Course convenor for Digital Archaeology
2024-2026: Lecturer on Digitisation of Cultural Heritage
2025: Lecturer on Political and Cultural Citizenship (Media)
2025: Lecture on Philosophy of Science & Research Methods (Media)
2024: Course convenor for Archaeologists as Public Intellectuals
2023-2026: Lecturer on Kulturarv och kommunikation
2023: Lecturer on Kulturpolitikens möjligheter och begränsningar
2022-2023: Lecturer on Critical Theory & Digital Transformation
2022: Lecturer on Network, Society & Internet Culture
My research groups
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Centre for Applied Heritage Applied heritage is about the potential of heritage to transform society. The Centre for Applied Heritage at Linnaeus University aims at advancing academic research and…
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Linnaeus University Centre for Concurrences in Colonial and Postcolonial Studies The Linnaeus University Centre for Concurrences in Colonial and Postcolonial Studies is a leading centre for Colonial…
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The Cluster for Ecology, Culture and Coloniality (ECCo) In the age of climate emergency, global inequality, and – most recently – the uneven effects of pandemic illness, it is increasingly clear that…
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UNESCO Chair on Heritage Futures Building global capacity for futures thinking among heritage professionals
My ongoing research projects
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Project: New Romans The project New Romans utilizes the digital humanities to research the sociopolitical contexts of references to Classical Antiquity in the United States, exploring the possible…
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Seed project: Digital Excavations: Text mining approaches for a better archaeology Archaeology has a persistent problem with continued nationalist discourse appearing in our narratives about the past,…
Publications
Article in journal (Refereed)
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Tsakiri, C., Hanscam, E., Linhares, C.D.G. (2025). From exile to political revival : A social network analysis of ioannis metaxas (1919–1923). Social Sciences & Humanities Open. 12.
Status: Published -
Hanscam, E., Buchanan, B. (2023). Walled in : Borderlands, frontiers and the future of archaeology. Antiquity. 97 (394). 1004-1016.
Status: Published -
Duncan, R., Marcussen, E., Classon Frangos, M., Hanscam, E. (2023). The Emergency Has Already Happened. Environment and History. 29 (4). 476-482.
Status: Published -
Hanscam, E., Witcher, R. (2023). Women in Antiquity : An Analysis of Gender and Publishing in a Global Archaeology Journal. Journal of field archaeology. 48 (2). 87-101.
Status: Published -
Hofmann, D., Hanscam, E., Furholt, M., Bača, M., Reiter, S.S., et al. (2021). Forum : Populism, Identity Politics, and the Archaeology of Europe. European Journal of Archaeology. 24 (4). 519-555.
Status: Published -
Popa, C.N., Hanscam, E. (2020). Of Romans, Dacians and Romanians. ARCHAICA. 7-8. 243-251.
Status: Published -
Hanscam, E. (2019). Postnationalism and the Past : The Politics of Theory in Roman Archaeology. Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal. 2 (1).
Status: Published -
Hanscam, E., Quiery, J. (2018). From TRAC to TRAJ : Widening Debates in Roman Archaeology. Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal. 1 (1).
Status: Published -
Hanscam, E. (2017). Frontiers of Romania : Nationalism and the Ideological Space of the Roman Limes. EX NOVO Journal of Archaeology. 2. 63-83.
Status: Published
Conference paper (Refereed)
- Holt, K., Hanscam, E., Mohammed, A.T., Milrad, M., Önnerfors, A., et al. (2025). Emotional mobilization and democratic resilience in the hybrid media landscape. . 111-112.
- Hanscam, E., Lincke, A., Mohammed, A.T., Van Oeveren, D., Witcher, R. (2024). Digital Excavations : Text Mining Approaches for a Better Archaeology. .
Chapter in book (Refereed)
- Hanscam, E., Koranyi, J. (2023). Digging Politics : The Ancient Past and Contested Present. Digging Politics : The Ancient Past and Contested Present in East-Central Europe. Berlin, Walter de Gruyter. 1-16.
- Karavas, J., Hanscam, E. (2023). The Lower Danube Limes : Recentring a Roman Frontier Province. The Roman Lower Danube Frontier : Innovations in Theory and Practice. Oxford, Archaeopress. 1-12.
- Hanscam, E. (2023). Archaeology and the Challenge of Continuity : East-Central Europe during the Age of Migrations. Digging Politics : The Ancient Past and Contested Present in East-Central Europe. Berlin, Walter de Gruyter. 307-345.
- Buchanan, B., Hanscam, E. (2023). Rivers and Walls : The Materiality of Roman Frontier Waterscapes on Hadrian's Wall and the Lower Danube. Rivers and Waterways in the Roman World. London, Routledge. 228-244.
- Hanscam, E. (2018). The Social Context of Archaeology in Romania : Teaching Field Methodology on an Orthodox Holy Site. Archaeological Sites as Space for Modern Spiritual Practice. Newcastle, Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 72-89.
Collection (editor) (Refereed)
- Koranyi, J., Hanscam, E. (2023). Digging Politics : The Ancient Past and Contested Present in East-Central Europe. Berlin, Walter de Gruyter. 356.
- Hanscam, E., Karavas, J. (2023). The Roman Lower Danube : Innovations in Theory and Practice. Oxford, Archaeopress. 153.
Article, book review (Refereed)
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Hanscam, E. (2026). Timothy C. Hart. 2024. Beyond the river: under the eye of Rome. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; 978-0-472-13353-6 hardback $80; ebook Open Acces. Antiquity. Antiquity Publications.
Status: Epub ahead of print
Article in journal (Other academic)
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Hanscam, E., Buchanan, B. (2023). Borders and politically proactive archaeologies. Antiquity. 97 (394). 1029-1031.
Status: Published
Conference paper (Other academic)
- Hanscam, E., Kamal, A.M., Golub, K. (2024). A Growing Centre for Digital Humanities at Linnaeus University. HiC2024, Huminfra Conference, 10–11January,2024, Gothenburg,Sweden : Abstract Submissions.
Collection (editor) (Other academic)
- Zahariade, M., Avram, A., Hanscam, E., Rogers, G., Durant, N. (2015). Lexicon of the Greek and Roman Cities and Place Names in Antiquity, c.1500 B.C.-c500 A.D. : Caesarodunum-Cannabiaca. Amsterdam, Adolf M. Hakkert.
Other (Other academic)
- Hanscam, E., Hanscam, R., Lincke, A., Milrad, M., Mohammed, A.T., et al. (2024). Exploring Antiquity Geographic Regions.
Article, book review (Other academic)
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Hanscam, E. (2022). Chiara Bonacchi. 2022. Heritage and nationalism: understanding populism through big data. London: UCL Press; 978-1-78735-803-4 hardback £40. Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. 96 (389). 1351-1353.
Status: Published -
Hanscam, E. (2021). Clive Gamble. 2021. Making deep history: zeal, perseverance, and the time revolution of 1859 : Oxford: Oxford University Press, 978-0-198870-69-2 hardback £25. Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. 95 (381). 843-845.
Status: Published -
Hanscam, E. (2021). Hannah Cobb and Karina Croucher. Assembling Archaeology: Teaching, Practice, and Research : (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020, xi and 214pp., 10 figs, hbk, ISBN 9780198784258). European Journal of Archaeology. Cambridge University Press. 24 (2). 287-291.
Status: Published -
Hanscam, E. (2020). Lynn Meskell. A Future in Ruins: UNESCO, World Heritage, and the Dream of Peace : (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018, xxiii and 372pp., 20 figs, hbk, ISBN 978-0190648343). European Journal of Archaeology. Cambridge University Press. 23 (1). 152-154.
Status: Published -
Hanscam, E. (2020). [Review of] Iurie Stamati, The Slavic Dossier. Medieval Archaeology in the Soviet Republic of Moldova. Between State Propaganda and Scholarly Endeavor, Leiden / Boston: Brill, 2019. Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas. Franz Steiner Verlag. 3. 82-84.
Status: Published -
Hanscam, E. (2019). Cornelius Holtorf, Andreas Pantazatos and Geoffrey Scarre, eds. Cultural Heritage, Ethics, and Contemporary Migrations : (London: Routledge, 2019, xii and 256pp., 23 figs, pbk, ISBN 978-1138788220). European Journal of Archaeology. Cambridge University Press. 22 (2). 293-297.
Status: Published -
Hanscam, E. (2017). Review of Interconnectivity in the Mediterranean and Pontic World during the Hellenistic and Roman Periods, by Victor Cojocaru, Altay Coşkun, and Mădălina Dana. Mouseion. University of Toronto Press. 14 (1). 161-164.
Status: Published
Article in journal (Other (popular science, discussion, etc.))
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Hanscam, E., Holtorf, C. (2023). Rooted in the future : A cultural ecology of the Sycamore Gap tree. Current Archaeology. 405 (November 2). 48-50.
Status: Published
Chapter in book (Other (popular science, discussion, etc.))
- Hanscam, E., Holtorf, C. (2024). A Living Wall. Hadrian's Wall in our Time. Archaeopress. 202-203.