Dr. Barbara Voss
Dr. Barbara Voss is an associate professor at Stanford University. She earned her Ph.D. in anthropology at University of California, Berkeley in 2002. From 1986 to 1992 she worked as an archaeology field technician for Archaeological/Historical Consultants in Oakland, CA and from 1992 to 1996 she was Senior Staff Archaeologist with Woodward Clyde Consultants in Oakland CA . Dr. Voss’ research program is centered on two primary interests: historical archaeology and sexuality studies. Within historical archaeology, her research focuses on the dynamics and outcomes of transnational cultural encounters in the Americas. This research includes ongoing investigations of the Spanish colonization of the Americas, including (since 1992) field and laboratory research at the Presidio of San Francisco.
Dr. Voss has expanded this work on cultural encounters into the archaeology of overseas Chinese communities in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In this capacity she serves as Principal Investigator of the Market Street Chinatown Archaeology Project, a community-based research program developed to study and interpret the history and archaeology of San Jose’s first Chinese community. The second focus of her research is sexuality studies in archaeology.
Dr. Voss strives to generate a productive dialogue between queer studies and archaeology, and to develop rigorous methodologies that support the study of sexuality and gender through archaeological evidence. Dr. Voss is guided by a deep commitment to public archaeology and collaborative research
