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Archaeology is popular culture Activity Google image searches and look at stock images archaeologist archaeology historian history Identify common tropes images clothing actions and implications of these How does what you find compare with Holtorf Where does Holtorf suggest tropes come from When searching Archaeology it commonly showed white females digging in the desert land surveyors and scuba divers all wearing shorts with long sleeves and that cowboy looking hat brown khakis clothes Holtorf says that archeologists are very masculine dominated yet there are a lot of photos of women when searched Talks a lot about depth things below the surface hidden treasures the unknown and the thrill of discovery Talks about finding yourself through archaeology When searching historians we saw a lot of old guys with suits documents cursive handwriting paper documents examining text rather than tangible artifacts Reading using magnifying glasses When searching history it was popular history figures or images maps charts compasses historical paintings and globes Heritage 101 What is heritage and why does it matter Differing definitions ideas in popular professional historical cultural contexts but influence each other This class is essentially a public history class about heritage and where myths misconceptions come from And what we can should do about What is heritage What does it entail Significance of past in the present Values and representations of the past in the present and ways people connect w past and use it in the present And cultural resources and historical narratives Heritage in Western contexts brief history of how it has been conceptualized Power Built environment and historic objects identity Many scholars talk about the role of heritage in constructing forming reinforcing national identity Part of thesis of Benedict Anderson s book Imagined Communities Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism 1983 Anderson political scientist historian who talked about how heritage historic sites narratives symbols things like newspapers used to construct national identities reinforce pride construct imagined communities shared identities of people not necessarily obviously connected Historic sites traditions events commemorated to promote identity national narrative to citizens Symbols of national identity Flags Mexican flag Aztec symbolism drawing on it s heritage and the past to say We are a united people with a shared heritage image from Aztec origin myth in which the Mexica people were told to establish their homeland capital at a place where they saw an eagle on a cactus surrounded by water eating a serpent According to the Aztec origin myth this is why they built Tenochtitlan where they did Key points for our class scholarly approaches popular understandings Significance of the past A process how people engage w past in present Actions ideas values connections w objects etc are all heritage Constructed ideas debates memory values people construct abt past how past managed in present e g preserved interacted w celebrated left to decay in the elements promoted through education tourism Diverse forms interests connections Tangible and intangible representations of past historical narratives assigned meaning e g objects historic places traditions landscapes language stories oral histories art cultural practices etc Often integral to identity individual collective identity Part of how people define who they are connections with nationalism group identity ethnicity family Can disposes malign empower Engagements with are powerful And people groups engaged in acts of historical thinking and production Heritage doesn t equal history subjective The Parthenon Marbles removed by Thomas Bruce Lord Elgin from 1801 1812 royal decree from the Ottoman Empire which controlled Greece until 1832 Purchased by the British Crown in 1816 then passed to the British Museum Ongoing debates discussions particularly recently International requests from UNESCO for example denied Talks British Greek PM museums cultural leaders since late 2021 no decisions yet still very heated Debates about legality can they be returned Loaned British public recent poll over 50 agree in favor of return without conditions Why discuss power of past and heritage in this class The why so what Who cares factors Relationship between myths mysteries historical cultural political context Hotly contested narratives about past often conflict used to promote one group over another historians work hard to strive for objective interpretations of past sift through many accounts Many s abt heritage Whose history places stuff Whose right to own interact w utilize past Can unite malign People throughout history manipulate the past for their own gain people groups in power use heritage to create empires reinforce political power justify actions re construct narratives about themselves try to rewrite history people fabricate aspects of the past lies can be perpetuated and sources withheld or even destroyed Impacts some groups written into and or out of history people destroy history and sites for political reasons people deny aspects of history and try to erase history There is a long tradition of manipulating the past in these ways Institutions and power dynamics have long dominated how heritage is managed and how people think about it e g Parthenon Marbles Rosenzweig and Thelen People often connect with the past that is close to them Issues of ownership seeing self group Ppl have identified disconnects between history historical experts their own history cultural heritage Ppl interests in popular resources Trust museums educational spaces Think about Everyman his own historian What are some things he emphasizes Becker s perspectives and concerns Historians strive for objectivity but also must consider Mr Everyman history can t just speak for itself must consider history s significance in the present otherwise it is irrelevant pp 234 235 powerful statements READ pp 234 we must adapt our knowledge to his Mr Everyman s necessities Otherwise he will leave us to our own devices to cultivate a species of dry professional arrogance growing out of the thin soil of antiquarian research The history that lies inert in unread books does not work in the world The history that does work in the world the history that influences the course of history is living history that pattern of remembered events that enlarges and enriches the collective specious


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NCSU PHI 305 - Archaeology

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