Upper School Intersession 2025

The way we view science and the past has been strongly informed by scientific research that did not have good intentions, and did not view humans across the globe as equals. In the past 15 years, archaeologists and museum researchers have been trying to identify how ideas of inequality and superiority have affected our understanding of the past, using archaeology as a tool of empire and European supremacy. This session covers how European researchers used their colonial view of their own high intelligence to build up a scientific practice that reinforced their role as “objective”, and how that view permeates science today, including AI and data science. The session aims to deconstruct some of the myths of science as fully objective, identify ways to break down these concepts, and figure out how science can move forward with inclusive research. We will discuss archaeological theories and developments that led to our current understanding of non-objectivity and decolonising praxis.

Key questions: What role did scientists’ belief in their objectivity influence the kinds of research they practiced? How can we practice science today without falling into the same traps?

Part of a series: “Ethical issues in archaeology." Students are invited to attend one or more sessions in this series by Stacy.

In this session, we will be discussing facets of science that can be uncomfortable in the interest of learning and understanding.

We now know that sex and gender are an interrelated spectrum. These are reflected in the way archaeologists view skeletons, and helps to problematise our view of sex and gender concepts and roles in ancient societies. This session will teach methods used to perform scientific sex assessments and the ways we use that and other archaeological indicators to suggest gender. From there, we will discuss and problematise the ways that sex and gender have been discussed in archaeology, and how that has impacted the public understanding of ancient societies.

Key questions: Were women always confined to domestic spaces? Were men always hunters? Is there archaeological evidence for trans, non-binary, and other gender identities across the ancient world? How have researchers misidentified sex and gender of archaeological individuals, and how does this change our understanding of their identities and societies?

Part of a series: “Ethical issues in archaeology." Students are invited to attend one or more sessions in this series by Stacy.
In this session, we will be viewing images of ancient human remains.

The way we view science and the past has been strongly informed by scientific research that did not have good intentions, and did not view humans across the globe as equals. In the past 15 years, archaeologists and museum researchers have been trying to identify how ideas of inequality and superiority have affected our understanding of the past, using archaeology as a tool of empire and European supremacy. This session covers how European researchers used their colonial view of their own high intelligence to build up a scientific practice that reinforced their role as “objective”, and how that view permeates science today, including AI and data science. The session aims to deconstruct some of the myths of science as fully objective, identify ways to break down these concepts, and figure out how science can move forward with inclusive research. We will discuss archaeological theories and developments that led to our current understanding of non-objectivity and decolonising praxis.

Key questions: What role did scientists’ belief in their objectivity influence the kinds of research they practiced? How can we practice science today without falling into the same traps?

Part of a series: “Ethical issues in archaeology." Students are invited to attend one or more sessions in this series by Stacy.

In this session, we will be discussing facets of science that can be uncomfortable in the interest of learning and understanding.

We now know that sex and gender are an interrelated spectrum. These are reflected in the way archaeologists view skeletons, and helps to problematise our view of sex and gender concepts and roles in ancient societies. This session will teach methods used to perform scientific sex assessments and the ways we use that and other archaeological indicators to suggest gender. From there, we will discuss and problematise the ways that sex and gender have been discussed in archaeology, and how that has impacted the public understanding of ancient societies.

Key questions: Were women always confined to domestic spaces? Were men always hunters? Is there archaeological evidence for trans, non-binary, and other gender identities across the ancient world? How have researchers misidentified sex and gender of archaeological individuals, and how does this change our understanding of their identities and societies?

Part of a series: “Ethical issues in archaeology." Students are invited to attend one or more sessions in this series by Stacy.

In this session, we will be viewing images of ancient human remains.