Anthropology 494AI - Archaeology Of Us

What can archaeology tell us about the world we live in and all of its complexities? Normally seen as a discipline to explore the deep past, what can archaeology tell us about the recent past? Over the past twenty years, archaeologists have turned their methods towards the study of the material culture of the contemporary world. These scholars have used archaeological techniques to study undocumented migrants, mass graves, homelessness, and numerous other nontraditional archaeological sites that highlight issues of power, violence, poverty, and vulnerability in contemporary society. Building from these case-studies this course asks students to think about how the methods and sensibilities of archaeology might be useful to interrogate their own lives and communities.