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Exploring Well-Being at Three Great Lakes Lighthouses

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Abstract

Archaeological inquiry into health is typically centered on ableism, which views healthiness and non-(dis)abledness as the desirable norm. To see beyond these normative perspectives, I propose a view of (dis)ease and (dis)ability as “well-being.” Well-being should be conceived as a complex assemblage that includes a focus on lived experience and an intersectional view of social and personal identities. I use archaeological and archival evidence from three lighthouses in the Great Lakes region of the United States to propose ways to apply the concept of well-being.

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Acknowledgements

I want to thank the following organizations and local governments for funding the research described in this paper Emmet County Parks and Recreation Department, 40 Mile Point Lighthouse Society, Presque Isle County, and the St. Clair Parks and Recreation Commission. I also appreciate the work of many students and volunteers who assisted with the fieldwork and laboratory analysis. I am indebted to the late Mr. Dick Moehl, whose passion for Great Lakes Lighthouses and maritime history started me down this path.

Funding

This research was funded by grants with Emmet County Parks and Recreation Department, the Presque Isle County Parks and Recreation Department, and the St. Clair Parks and Recreation Commission.

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  1. Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work, Central Michigan University, 138 Anspach Hall, Mount Pleasant, MI, 48859, USA

    Sarah Surface-Evans

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Correspondence to Sarah Surface-Evans.

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Surface-Evans, S. Exploring Well-Being at Three Great Lakes Lighthouses. Int J Histor Archaeol 27, 117–142 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10761-021-00643-2

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