Beyond Aesthetics: Classical Archaeology and the Art of Ancient Greece and Rome
December 5, 2012
Hosted by Dr. Joseph Schuldenrein
[Download MP3] [itunes] [Bookmark Episode]
Guest Information
Episode Description
Classical archaeology is often integrated with art history in university and college departments across the world. Dr. Rachel Kousser, professor of Greek and Roman Art and Archaeology at the CUNY Graduate Center and Brooklyn College, explains to Dr. Schuldenrein and listeners how and why archaeology and art go hand in hand when studying the classical world of Greece and Rome. Instead of solely focusing on the creation and aesthetic of a piece of art, archaeology allows the materiality and biography of an object to be considered in its interpretation. In other words, the anthropological concept of context allows researchers to contemplate where the object was used, who was using it, and what it meant to the people consuming it. Classical Art can now be seen, much like today, to serve political purposes, reveal gender identities, and provide social commentaries. Enriching and revealing, the integration of archaeology and art history opens up ancient Greece and Rome like never before.
Indiana Jones: Myth, Reality and 21st Century Archaeology
Archives Available on VoiceAmerica Variety Channel
This show targets an audience interested in archaeology. It explores myths surrounding this exotic, often misunderstood field and acquaints listeners with the contemporary practice of unearthing the human past. Themes range from Dr. Schuldenrein’s own “Indiana Jones”-like adventures in the land of the Bible to his team’s archaeological forensics effort to unearth Kurdish mass graves in Iraq. That undertaking helped convict Saddam Hussein in 2006. Topical issues contribute to the evolution vs. creationism controversy based on updated fossil records and innovative DNA studies. An episode highlights the main funding source for archaeology in the U.S. (Hint: the oil and gas industry). Experts reveal the latest high-tech approaches to buried archaeological landscapes that provide clues to understanding climate change, past, present and future.
Dr. Joseph Schuldenrein
Joseph Schuldenrein is president and senior scientist of Geoarcheology Research Associates (GRA) in Yonkers, New York. He has been a Visiting Scholar at New York University since 1996. His professional expertise is in geoarchaeology, a sub-discipline that introduces earth science techniques to traditional archaeological excavation. Joe has worked extensively across North America and the Old World. He received his doctorate in 1983 at the University of Chicago. Recent research in North America has concentrated on the urban archaeology of New York City and Native American landscapes of the Atlantic Coast. Joe’s projects in South Asia have ranged from Human Origins investigations to the beginnings of civilization of the Indus Valley. During the Iraq war Dr. Schuldenrein’s team helped direct a forensic archaeological mission in support of the Saddam Hussein prosecution. His newest venture is an assessment of Cultural Heritage Sites in war-torn Afghanistan (2011). Dr. Schuldenrein publishes widely in numerous archaeological and geological journals. He is a reviewer for American Antiquity, Geoarchaeology, and Quaternary Science Reviews. He has acted as Principal Investigator or Consulting Scientist for grants awarded by the National Science Foundation, Wenner-Gren, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute for Aegean Prehistory. Dr. Schuldenrein has been interviewed for PBS, as well as national and regional TV and radio outlets over the past 30 years.
