Archaeology and Modernity

Catalog description

This seminar explores the relationship between archaeology and modernity in its various dimensions. We examine how archaeological knowledge and practice have been tied to modern thought, including modernity’s conceptions of time, materiality, progress, and science. We explore how archaeology emerged as a discipline alongside colonialism and nationalism and consider the implications of these connections in the Middle East and beyond. The course also focuses on the archaeology of modernity—the growing field that investigates the material remains of the recent past. From the ruins and remnants of wars, genocides, and industrialization, to environmental crises and the waste of mass consumption, we consider how archaeological approaches to material traces offer unique insights into 20th and 21st century history and society. The course draws on case studies from southwest Asia and around the world. Through readings and discussions, we focus on critical questions about temporality, memory, and materiality, and consider how archaeological perspectives can defamiliarize the recent past.