ABSTRACT
Researchers in the field of adult education have been investigating transformative learning, which develops autonomous thinking, since the late 1970s. The transformation refers to changes in a person's frame of reference. A person changes his or her beliefs, attitudes, and emotional reactions through critical reflection about experiences. A major life crisis or transition can trigger a disorienting dilemma, bring about the transformation of one's perspectives, and change one's life. Archaeology can offer opportunities for disorienting dilemmas, perhaps by tracing the sources and origins of some of our persistent 'isms' based on race, sex, ethnicity, and other factors. Historical archaeology can provide the connections that individuals and families might not make for themselves. Such a contribution can provide the broad context and the connections that form bridges to others' experiences. As archaeologists become involved in civic renewal and transformative learning, we will need a discipline that can be of service to society and that offers its scholarship in the public realm.
