Dr. Tracie Mayfield, Lecturer, Department of Anthropology, University of Southern CaliforniaWednesday, December 2nd, 12:00pm - 1:00pm PTDuring the nineteenth-century, Latin America was a hotbed of trade and commerce driven principally by extractive industries such as agriculture (principally sugar) and hardwood collection. Such ventures required large injections of capital into the creation and maintenance of productive […]

Marci J. Burton, Mellon Conservation Fellow, Fowler Museum; Carlee Forbes, Mellon Curatorial Fellow, Fowler Museum; Erica P. Jones, Associate Curator of African Arts, Fowler MuseumWednesday, December 9th, 12:00pm - 1:00pm PTAkan-speaking communities on the Gold Coast (modern-day Ghana) have long been home to a vibrant brass-casting culture. From the 15th century, brass-casting focused on producing […]

Brittany CoxHorological Conservator, Memoria TechnicaFriday December 18th, 11:00am - 12:00pm (PT)Register hereIn conservation there is always the question of tangible versus intangible qualities. Is one more important than the other? Should form follow function, or function follow form? If a functional object is beautifully presented and preserved, but doesn’t actually work, is it successful? The conservation of […]

Dr. Piphal Heng, ACLS Postdoctoral Fellow, Northern Illinois UniversityTuesday, January 19, 2021 10:00 AM (Pacific Time) Zoom Webinar“Compassion” was an instrumental state’s infrastructure in building, maintaining, and expanding Angkor’s power from the 9th through 15th centuries CE. Angkorian civilization is known for its intricately carved monumental architecture, large water reservoirs, and interconnected road and canal systems. […]

Dr. Tiffany FryerCotsen Postdoctoral Fellow, Princeton Society of Fellows, Princeton UniversityWednesday January 27th, 12:00pm (PT)Register for this Cotsen Virtual Pizza Talk here! You will receive instructions on viewing the talk after registering. 

Lylliam PosadasFriday January 29th, 11:00am - 12:00pm (PT)Register hereConservators can play a significant role in the repatriation process and in addressing concerns in the care of sensitive collections. Conservators and repatriation staff can work together with tribal and community representatives to address some of the unjust histories of museum acquisitions and develop new approaches for collections stewardship. Professional ethics in the conservation […]

Over ZoomPanel featuring three Cotsen graduate student volunteers who described their subfields and path to graduate school followed by general Q&A

Anna FunkeConservator, Warren Lasch Conservation Center, Clemson UniversityFebruary 3rd, Wednesday 12:00pm (PT)The Warren Lasch Conservation Center has been working on the H.L. Hunley submarine since it was raised from Charleston Harbor in 2000. Renown for being the first successful combat submarine, it was designed to break the blockade of Charleston, in the later years of […]

Presented byDr. Stephen AcabadoAssociate Professor, Department of Anthropology, UCLACurrent research in Philippine archaeology is pushing back against the colonial foundations of the discipline and the hegemonic status of the Three Age System in the region, including the broader Southeast Asian archaeology. The Three-Age Model, developed for Scandinavia, was imposed on Southeast Asia through its application […]

Dr. Glenn WhartonLore and Gerald Cunard Chair, UCLA/Getty Program in the Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLAWednesday February 10th, 12:00pm (PT)The community-based conservation of the Kamehameha I sculpture on the island of Hawai’i shows how local residents can engage in negotiating the meaning of cultural heritage and affect how their […]