Topics in Anthropology (490-0-4)

Topic

Community Archaeology

Instructors

Amanda Logan
847/491-4564
1812 Hinman Ave. Room 203
Prof. Amanda Logan's overarching goal is to connect the past to the present through reframing the kinds of questions we ask and empirically bridging the modern/premodern divide. Her current focus is building an archaeology of food security that traces how, where, and when chronic hunger emerged across the African continent.

Meeting Info

ANTHRO Sem Rm B07 - 1810 Hinmn: Tues 2:00PM - 4:50PM

Overview of class

How can we - and should we - make archaeology relevant to today's pressing concerns? In the last decade, archaeology has undergone major transformations in our goals, methods, and research questions. One of these revolutions is what we might call 'the community turn', which demands an archaeology that is for and with local communities. At the same time, archaeologists are increasingly justifying their work in terms of its relevance to pressing modern issues like climate change. In this class, we will consider different forms of community engagement (e.g., repatriation); what usefulness means to various stakeholders; and the potentials and limitations of a 'usable past' approach.

Registration Requirements

graduate status

Learning Objectives

To understand how archaeologists make the past useful to various modern stakeholder groups; To critically analyze the pros and cons of such engagements; To create a plan to study usable pasts in student's individual research areas

Class Materials (Required)

Articles on Canvas

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Reserved for Graduate Students.