Brown Bag talks are held Thursdays from 12:00-12:50 pm in Rhode Island Hall 108. These talks are free and open to the public.
The schedule for the Fall 2024 semester is below.
September 26, 2024 Suzanne E. Pilaar Birch (Anthropology and Geography, University of Georgia) “To La Muculufa and Back Again…: Re-investigating a Bronze Age Sanctuary and Village.”
October 10, 2024 Jonathan Russell (Egyptology and Assyriology, Brown University) “The Power of Substance and Transformation: Re-evaluating the Role of Beer Brewing Technology in Ancient Egyptian Therapeutic Recipe Compositions”
October 17, 2024
Joukowsky Institute Fellows in Focus Lecture: Gretel Rodriquez (History of Art and Architecture, Brown University) “Sacred Water, Votives, and Architecture in the Gallo-Roman Spring Sanctuary at Nîmes“
October 31, 2024 Leah Neiman (Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology, Brown University)
Title TBA
November 7, 2024 Regina Uhl (Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology, Brown University) “Burial Mounds Between Hallstatt and Assur”
Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
Abstract deadline: 31 January 2023
Mediterranean Archaeology sits at an often complex intersection of the fields of Archaeology, Classics, Anthropology, History, and Art History. While several of these fields, in particular Classics and Anthropology have begun periods of significant critical self-reflection that explicitly question their present and future, Mediterranean Archaeology is doing so in a more fragmented manner. This lack of coherence may perhaps be ascribed to institutional fragmentation, in particular in US academia, but it can also be traced to its intricate location at the intersection of multiple academic traditions. As a result, Mediterranean archaeology has struggled to identify its own priorities and find its own voice for challenging traditional narratives and approaches and, as a result, risks being subsumed by adjacent disciplines with louder voices, despite many possible valuable contributions.
In light of these challenges, and especially considering the rapid pace of developments in archaeological methods and theory, the time is ripe to consider both the state of our field at this moment in time and to discuss where it can and should go in the future. Nearly every facet of Mediterranean Archaeology may be questioned and, indeed, we must do so in order to guarantee the continued relevance of our subject in both the ancient and modern worlds.
Brown University’s Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World will host a conference titled State of the Field 2023: Archaeologies of the Mediterraneanon April 14-15, 2023. This meeting builds on a tradition of ‘State of the Field’ workshops hosted by the Joukowsky Institute since 2011 that reflect upon current trends in archaeological practice. This year’s conference discusses the place of Mediterranean Archaeology in the modern world in North America, Europe and the Mediterranean. We intend to examine academic traditions and assumptions as well as contemporary institutional and political structures that frame our theoretical and methodological engagement with the material culture of the ancient Mediterranean and adjacent regions in order to ensure that the field maintains relevance into the future.
We invite submissions for papers of approximately 20 minutes by sending an abstract of no more than 350 words to Joukowsky_Institute@brown.edu by 31 January 2023. We will cover travel expenses and accommodation for speakers, and especially encourage submissions from early-career researchers.
Suggested themes can include, but are not limited to:
● Diversity – How has the field fared in diversifying its participants at the undergraduate, graduate, and faculty levels? This can include topics of gender, class, race and any other background. Have we succeeded in teaching and researching more diverse subjects that better account for ancient realities? What remains to be done?
● Definitions – How do we define our field of study? What is its geography, chronology, and cultural scope? What subjects should we include, and what theories and methods should be used? How do we fit into current academic and university structures? Why does US academia not have Archaeology departments anymore? What are the consequences of this departmental division and what can we do about it? What do we have in common with other fields, and what is unique about our own?
● Relationships – How do we relate to non-academic structures, especially State-run or commercial (i.e., rescue or preventative) archaeology? What role do foreign schools and institutions serve in forming these relationships? How do we engage responsibly with local communities in the places where we conduct fieldwork?
● Historiography – How have the last two centuries (or more) of archaeological practice shaped the modern field, and should they be maintained or discarded? Have we done enough to examine and change the colonial foundations of the discipline? What can we do better?
● Responsibilities – How do we communicate the significance of our field to the public, both at home and abroad? What role does public archaeology play in our field? How has pedagogy changed, and how might it change further? What role do museums and archaeological parks play in our public relationships? How should items and exhibits be displayed?
● Narratives – How has our field shaped knowledge of the past? Are current practices changing narratives? What existing narratives remain to be challenged?
Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World Brown University | Box 1837 | Rhode Island Hall | 60 George Street | Providence, RI 02912 t: (401) 863-3188 | f: (401) 863-9423 e: joukowsky_institute@brown.edu w: http://www.brown.edu/go/archaeology
Brown Bag talks are held Thursdays from 12:00-12:50pm in RI Hall 108. These talks are free and open to the public. Information about each talk will be provided below.
October 13, 2022: Daniel Everton (Public Humanities, Brown University) Re-imagining the Predynastic Man Exhibit at Museo Egizio
October 20, 2022: Amanda Gaggioli (Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology, Brown University) Decolonialism and Mediterranean Archaeology: the case for the Aegean prehistory/history divide
November 3, 2022: John F. Cherry & Liza Davis (Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology, Brown University) Archaeology in the Potter’s Field at Providence’s North Burial Ground
November 17, 2022: Christina Hodge (Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, Brown University) Desanitizing Provenance: Critical Documentation in Museum Collections
December 1, 2022 Breton Langendorfer (History of Art and Architecture, Brown University) Achaemenid Syntax: Architecture, Metalware, and Modularity
Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
Abstract Deadline: December 15, 2019
The Levant, a loosely defined region
encompassing the modern countries of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Palestine,
and Cyprus, is rich in archaeology and history. The region has been central to
the discipline of archaeology since the nineteenth century, and arguably even
earlier. A long history of colonial rule, political and religious differences,
academic specializations and passions, stark financial inequalities and war
continue to inform and limit dialogue not only among local and foreign
archaeologists working there, but also among scholars, local communities,
government officials, and other stakeholders.
Aware of the ancient and modern importance of the region, the peculiar challenges it poses, the possibilities for collaboration, and the need for creative perspectives, the Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World at Brown University will host State of the Field 2020: Archaeology of the Levant on March 13-14, 2020. The event is part of the Joukowsky Institute’s “State of the Field” conference series, a yearly meeting which aims to highlight and reflect upon specific thematic or regional archaeological topics within a community of scholars whose research engages with those topics.
State of the Field 2020: Archaeology of the
Levant will be dedicated to
addressing the unique aspects of the Levant through a series of invited papers
and presentations, aimed to foster constructive discussion of current and
future directions for archaeology in the region. Topics of particular interest
include:
Current directions,
critical trends, and lacunae in archaeological research in any part of the
Levant, or in the region as a whole
Museum, archival studies,
and other investigations that rely primarily on archaeological legacy data
The effects of colonial
rule, modern geopolitics, fluctuating national boundaries, war, and migration,
among many other factors regarding the practice and interpretations of archaeological
work in the region
To expand the conversation beyond conventional
academic papers, the Joukowsky Institute now invites contributions – particularly
from early-career scholars – that touch on the themes of the conference and
highlight new and innovative approaches to the study of the Levant. We welcome
proposals for traditional conference posters, as well as less traditional projects,
such as short films, artwork, podcasts, multi-media installations, or other
forms that engage with the themes of the conference in thoughtful and
illuminating ways.
Accepted posters and projects will be exhibited
throughout the duration of the meeting and will be presented during a dedicated
time slot shortly before the Friday-night reception. Contributors are
encouraged, though not required, to attend and participate actively in the full
conference and will be provided with lunch on Saturday, but will be responsible
for their own travel and accommodation costs.
To submit a proposal for a poster or project,
please send an abstract of 250 words or less to Joukowsky_Institute@brown.edu
by December 15, 2019. For questions about this Call for Projects, or
about the conference, please see our conference website, brown.edu/go/sotf2020, or email Joukowsky_Institute@brown.edu.
