Here are a couple ways to learn about who I am and what I do. First, some narrative. Then, a couple of different short bios that can be adapted for use elsewhere.
Academic Foci
Although I have a variety of interests, I’m hoping to limit myself to three main areas of academic exploration moving forward:
- Pop culture and archaeology/anthropology
- Children’s landscapes in the past
- Programming and pedagogy within archaeology/anthropology
But that shouldn’t stay there
Exploring these interests is not limited to academic work because if it remains within academia exclusively it’s not helpful. Also academia, in the politest of terms, is problematic. Therefore, I write about pop culture, generally and with an archaeological or anthropological focus, at WWAC. I hope to pitch a few other places in 2021 but I also have a dissertation to finish and defend. Oh and a job.
In 2016-2018, I moderated panels bringing an anthropological and academic perspective to pop culture conventions as well as bringing those awesome outreach ideas to academic conferences. I hope to do more of these in the future once the dissertation is done and the pandemic is actually over.
In the meantime though, I’ve appeared on the Asians Represent Podcast, Curiosity in Focus, and the Archaeological Fantasies podcast talking about my work and what archaeology can bring to worldbuilding in fiction.
I also have hobbies like aikido and storytelling. I hope to put some of the creative work I do online in the future but for now, I’ll link to things that already exist.
Academic Bio (third person)
Paulina F. Przystupa is a Filipine-Polish-Canadian-American a settler in North America and graduate student in the Department of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, USA. Paulina is a historical landscape archaeologist who focuses on the interaction between learning culture and the way that humans structure their physical world. Specifically, Paulina’s dissertation examines the built environment of children’s institutions in the United States between 1865 and 1935.
Additionally, Paulina is the Postdoctoral Researcher in Data Visualization and Reproducibility at the Alexandria Archives Institute. Previously, Paulina studied at the University of Washington (Seattle, WA, USA) where Paulina earned a B.A. (2012) majoring in History and Anthropology. Paulina earned her M.A. (2014) at the University of New Mexico, which is where Paulina is completing her PhD in Anthropology.
Beyond academic work, Paulina has worked in cultural resource management in both Australia and the United States as a field technician, assistant cartographer, and lab technician. Paulina is also a research associate of the Indigenous Digital Archive. Paulina also writes about and reviews comics, movies, and shows at WWAC and moderates panels at popular culture conventions bringing an anthropological and academic perspective to popular media.
Public Bio (first person)
I’m Paulina F. Przystupa and I am a Filipine-Polish-American-Canadian settler in North America and archaeologist working on my PhD looking at institutions, childhood, and landscapes in the United States and Post Doc at the Alexandria Archive Institute. I also do aikido, tell stories, write about pop culture at wwacomics.com and moderate panels bringing an anthropological and academic perspective to pop culture conventions. I’ve appeared on the Asians Represent Podcast, Curiosity in Focus, and the Archaeological Fantasies podcast talking about my work and what archaeology can bring to worldbuilding in fiction.
Paulina F. Przystupa 