Contact Information
607 S Mathews Ave.
M/C 148
Urbana, IL 61801
Research Interests
Historical Anthropology and Archaeology, Diaspora and Heritage Studies, Legal Anthropology
Education
M.A. University of Pennsylvania
J.D. Georgetown University
Ph.D. University of Virginia
Grants
Archaeological and Historical Examination of a Nationalist Mythology of an Authentic Irish Past, 2013.
Cultural Creativity, History & Heritage in Edgefield, South Carolina, 2013, as Project Director, supported by a grant from the Humanities Council of South Carolina and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
National Science Foundation, Research Experiences for Undergraduates, New Philadelphia Archaeology Project, 2008-2012.
Community Informatics Initiative, Civic Engagement among Descendant and Local Communities of New Philadelphia, 2008-2009.
Memory and Heart: Pasts and Presents of African American Communities, 2011, as Project Director, supported by a grant from the Illinois Humanities Council, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Illinois General Assembly.
New Philadelphia Archaeology and the Digital Archaeological Record, 2011, as Principal Investigator, awarded by the Digital Antiquity initiative.
National Center for Preservation Training and Technology, Aerial Thermal Survey of New Philadelphia, 2008.
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Faculty Fellowship, 2006-2007; and other grants.
Awards and Honors
John L. Cotter Award recipient, 2009, for outstanding scholarly achievement in African diaspora studies, awarded by the Society for Historical Archaeology.
Gustave O. Arlt Award recipient, 2010, for outstanding contribution to scholarship in the humanities, awarded by the Council for Graduate Schools.
Award for Distinguished Service 2012-2013, Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
University of Illinois, included in List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent for fifteen courses; voted outstanding Anthropology Faculty member by the Undergraduate Anthropology Students Association.
University Scholar Award, 2014-2017, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
President, Illinois Archaeological Survey, 2018-2019.
Daniel G. Roberts Award for Excellence in Public Historical Archaeology recipient, 2020, for "commitment to public scholarship" and "anti-racism scholarship and education in historical archaeology," awarded by the Society for Historical Archaeology.
Courses Taught
Anthropology and Law; Social Norms and Law; Racism and Social Science; Landscape Archaeology; Archaeological Surveying; and Historical Archaeology, among others. Follow "Visit Website" link for syllabi
I am a faculty affiliate of, and offer courses related to: the UIUC Center for African Studies; Lemann Institute for Brazilian Studies; Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies; Department of African American Studies; College of Law; Department of Landscape Architecture; and Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory. I also serve as a yearly Visiting Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School.
Course offerings in Fall 2024 --
Anthropology and Law Seminar, Anth 560 / Laws 678
Historical Archaeology of the Americas, Anth 106 / Afro 106
Additional Campus Affiliations
Professor, Anthropology
Professor, College of Law
Professor, Landscape Architecture
Professor, African American Studies
Professor, Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory
Professor, Lemann Center for Brazilian Studies
Professor, Center for African Studies
Professor, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies
External Links
Honors & Awards
John L. Cotter Award recipient, 2009, for outstanding scholarly achievement in African diaspora studies, awarded by the Society for Historical Archaeology.
Gustave O. Arlt Award recipient, 2010, for outstanding contribution to scholarship in the humanities, awarded by the Council for Graduate Schools.
Award for Distinguished Service 2012-2013, Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
University of Illinois, included in List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent for fifteen courses; voted outstanding Anthropology Faculty member by the Undergraduate Anthropology Students Association.
University Scholar Award, 2014-2017, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
President, Illinois Archaeological Survey, 2018-2019.
Daniel G. Roberts Award for Excellence in Public Historical Archaeology recipient, 2020, for "commitment to public scholarship" and "anti-racism scholarship and education in historical archaeology," awarded by the Society for Historical Archaeology.
Highlighted Publications
Fennell, C. C. (2024). African Diaspora Heritage in the Americas. In A. Sinamai, J. D. Giblin, S. Chirikure, & I. Odiaua (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Critical African Heritage Studies (pp. 160-173). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003025832-14
Fennell, C. (2021). The Archaeology of Craft and Industry. (The American Experience in Archaeological Perspective). University Press of Florida. https://doi.org/10.5744/florida/9780813069043.001.0001, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1w36p7n
Fennell, C. (2017). Introduction: Navigating Intersections in African Diaspora Archaeology. Historical Archaeology, 51(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41636-017-0001-y
White III, W. A., & Fennell, C. (Eds.) (2017). Challenging Theories of Racism, Diaspora, and Agency in African America. Historical Archaeology, 51(1), 1-148.
Fennell, C. (Ed.) (2024). Grappling with Monuments of Oppression: Moving from Analysis to Activism. (Restorative Justice in Heritage Studies and Archaeology). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003471936
Recent Publications
Fennell, C. C. (2024). African Diaspora Heritage in the Americas. In A. Sinamai, J. D. Giblin, S. Chirikure, & I. Odiaua (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Critical African Heritage Studies (pp. 160-173). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003025832-14
Fennell, C. (Ed.) (2024). Grappling with Monuments of Oppression: Moving from Analysis to Activism. (Restorative Justice in Heritage Studies and Archaeology). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003471936
Fennell, C. (2024). Introduction: Remaking Monuments and Memories. In C. Fennell (Ed.), Grappling with Monuments of Oppression: Moving from Analysis to Activism (pp. 1-34). https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003471936-1
Fennell, C. C., Flewellen, A. O., Franklin, M., & Weik, T. M. (2024). John L. Cotter Award in Historical Archaeology: Alicia D. Odewale. Historical Archaeology, 58(1), 6-9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41636-024-00488-6
Fennell, C. (2021). Pulpits and Stones: African-American Terrains of Action and Memory. Historical Archaeology, 55(4), 550-564. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41636-021-00297-1