Summary
Specializations and research interests
- Historical archaeology of the American West
- Social theory, power relations, structure and agency, identity, landscapes
- Industrial archaeology and company towns
- Indigenous historical archaeology and heritages, broadly defined
- Cultural heritage and cultural resource management (CRM)
- Decolonizing methods and collaborative archaeology
Ongoing research
- Collaborative archaeology and heritage preservation projects in service to Great Basin Tribes.
- Developing recommendations for improved tribal-federal relations regarding heritage consultation
- Landscape archaeology and historic preservation in the Reno/Tahoe area
- Developing recommendations for decolonizing methods
Teaching
- ANTH 202: Archaeology
- ANTH 442A/642B: Historical Archaeology
- ANTH 442B/642B: Industrial Archaeology
- ANTH 448/646: Archaeology Field School
- ANTH 705: Graduate Seminar in Archaeology
- ANTH 706: Seminar in Anthropological Problems: Archaeology of Power
- ANTH 706: Seminar in Anthropological Problems: Historical Archaeology
Selected external grants and awards
- 2022-2023 Kavli Fellow, National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Japanese-American-German Frontiers of Science Symposium in Dresden, Germany. American Chair for the symposium (co-chaired with Japan and Germany).
- 2020-2022 Kavli Fellow, National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Japanese-American-German Frontiers of Science Symposium in Irvine, California, USA.
- 2019 Mark E. Mack Community Engagement Award (first place). Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA). Awarded to the Collaborative Stewart Indian School Project.
- 2018-2019 Kavli Fellow, National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Japanese-American-German Frontiers of Science Symposium in Kyoto, Japan.
- 2016 Kavli Fellow, National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Japanese-American Frontiers of Science Symposium in Irvine, California, USA.
- 2016 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) from the White House, Executive Office of the President.
- 2016 Inductee, Academy of Sciences and Arts, Michigan Technological University.
- 2013 Society for Historical Archaeology's John L. Cotter Award (early career award).
Peer-reviewed publications
Books:
- Machado, Lisa, and Sarah E Cowie. Beer Garden, Catholic Hospital, and Indigenous Presence: Complicated Site Components in an American Mining Boomtown. Vol. 3221. Oxford: BAR Publishing, 2025.
- Cowie, Sarah E., Diane L. Teeman, and Christopher C. LeBlanc, eds. Collaborative Archaeology at Steward Indian School. Reno: University of Nevada Press, 2019.
- Cowie, Sarah E. The Plurality of Power: An Archaeology of Industrial Capitalism. New York: Springer, 2011.
Special Journal Issue:
- Pacheco, Susana, Kelly Britt, Tânia Casimiro, and Sarah E. Cowie, eds. "Archaeology, Activism and Protest." Special Issue of International Journal of Historical Archaeology 29(4), 2025.
Recent, Selected Articles and Book Chapters:
- Cowie, Sarah E, and Kelly M Britt. "Origins and Futures of Activist Archaeologies." International Journal of Historical Archaeology 29(4) 2025.
- Cowie, Sarah E, Patrick DeɁilélegiɁ Burtt, Michon Eben, and Diane L Teeman. "By Whose Authority? A Settler Archaeologist's Approach to Relinquishing Control in Indigenous and Collaborative Archaeologies." International Journal of Historical Archaeology, (29(4) 2025.
- Cowie, Sarah E, and Diane L Teeman. Navigating Entanglements and Mitigating Intergenerational Trauma in Two Collaborative Projects: Steward Indian School and "Our Ancestors' Walk of Sorrow" Forced Removal Trail. In Tsim Schneider and Lee Panich, Eds.. Archaeologies of Indigenous Presence. pp: 265-286. Gainesville: The University Press of Florida, 2022.
- Co-authored six chapters in Sarah E. Cowie, Diane L. Teeman, and Christopher C. LeBlanc (Eds.) Collaborative Archaeology at Stewart Indian School. Reno: University of Nevada Press, 2019.
Professional Memberships
- American Anthropological Association (AAA)
- Society for American Archaeology (SAA)
- Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA)
- Society for Industrial Archeology (SIA)
- Nevada State Board of Museums and History (2013-2023)
- Editorial Board Member for the International Journal of Historical Archaeology
Education
- Hunt Postdoctoral Fellow, Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, 2008-2009
- Ph.D., Anthropology (archaeology and sociocultural anthropology), University of Arizona, 2008
- M.S., Industrial Archaeology, Michigan Technological University, 1996
- B.A., Archaeology, Mount Holyoke College, 1994