AT 8-001_FA22: This course will introduce students to the promise and perils of how we study the past by exploring recent archaeological research findings from around the world. We consider how civilizations get ?lost? when it comes to talking about world history, and we explore this question through the study of a series of cultures that are either rarely discussed in textbooks, or for which new research is beginning to change our accepted representations. We will look at environmental impacts of the ancient Maya; seafaring by Polynesian explorers of Easter Island; trade empires of Sub-Saharan Africa; urban planning in the Indus Valley of Pakistan; and new views of the relationship of Neanderthals and humans. Our course materials will include research publications and videos that communicate new findings and connect them to modern-day issues of current relevance. Through discussions, journals, and field trips in St. Petersburg, we will consider questions such as: who decides the stories we tell about the past? Why do some civilizations get included while others are forgotten? And, most importantly, what lessons can forgotten civilizations teach us for the future about when it comes to equality, innovation, sustainability, and what it means to be human?
- Profesor: Anna Guengerich