Sponsored by: Archaeological Institute of America
In the post-Covid era, the discipline of archaeology is undergoing a sea change. Rather than conducting archaeology to learn first and foremost about the past, more and more archaeologists practice archaeology as way to serve people in the present. Some archaeologists, for example, focus their attention and expertise on helping First Nations communities in Canada locate family members lost in historic boarding school violence. Others serve the Black community, as descendants seek to identify victims of the Tulsa (and other) race massacres and to provide a more nuanced understanding of all the people who lived and toiled on southern plantations. Still others, including the speaker, are creating programs to change the demographics of the student pipeline, to help diversify a discipline traditionally practiced by a homogenous majority. This talk provides enough archaeological history to provide context for understanding the shift that is occurring, then shares case studies of contemporary archaeological work being done to help redress wrongs of the past and more broadly serve people in the present.
Joukowsky lecture
The AIA is North America's largest and oldest nonprofit organization dedicated to archaeology. The Institute advances awareness, education, fieldwork, preservation, publication, and research of archaeological sites and cultural heritage throughout the world. Your contribution makes a difference.
