Matthew Johnson, the Kenneth F. Burgess Professor, was honored at the investiture ceremony of endowed chairs

Matthew Johnson was honored as the Kenneth F. Burgess Professor of  the Department of Anthropology during an investiture ceremony of endowed chairs on March 9.

Johnson works on the archaeology of the British Isles in its Northern Atlantic and European context.  He has written six books on a range of themes, including castles, traditional houses, landscape, and an archaeology of capitalism.  His best known book is Archaeological Theory:  An Introduction:  the revised third edition appeared in 2019. He has also written more widely on interdisciplinary and interpretive approaches, understanding medieval and historical archaeology, and archaeology in its cultural context.

He most recently worked ‘in the field’ at Bodiam Castle and nearby houses and landscapes in southeastern England.  Bodiam is an iconic site, termed a ‘fairytale castle’ by visitors.  It has been a classic study in debates over society and culture in the later Middle Ages.  The collaborative Anglo-American project explored the castle and its surroundings as a living landscape of people of different social classes and identities.  Places like Bodiam are best understood as a series of scales, ranging from the action of washing hands in the chapel piscina through to their setting within global and postcolonial networks.

About the Kenneth F. Burgess Professor chair
A distinguished Chicago attorney and a strong advocate of academic freedom, Kenneth Burgess served as president of the Northwestern University Board of Trustees from 1937 until 1959. He played a central role in the planning and fundraising of Kresge Centennial Hall. Additionally,the University Library’s Burgess Plaza was named after him.