From Lab to Museum: Thinking with Things

Undergraduate / Graduate

What happens to artifacts after they're excavated? This class explores how archaeologists, anthropologists, historians, and museum professionals make use of the rich data available in the archaeological record to answer questions about the past, reconsider the present, and imagine the future. Through readings, field trips and hands-on practice, students will gain a foundation in thinking through things from a wide range of times and places. We will consider the ethics of working with archaeological collections, from questions of access to efforts to repatriate stolen belongings and ancestors. As we follow archaeological materials from their arrival in the lab through their curation and eventual storage, we will examine how different forms of public engagement can help make the study of the past relevant and accessible to present-day communities.