Conference: Critical Perspectives on the Practice of Digital Archaeology

Date: 

Fri - Sat, Feb 3 to Feb 4, 8:00am - 1:00pm

Location: 

Tsai Auditorium (S010) CGIS South, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA

See their website for schedule

Standing Committee on Archaeology

Harvard University

 

Abstract

The creation, management, sharing, and preservation of digital data and media have gained great prominence in archaeological research, grant making, policy making, and software and systems development. Digital data has much promise. It can help us engage with wider communities, explore new research questions, and create and preserve a vastly enriched body of archaeological documentation. Digital data also has a certain glamor, gained in large part through its associations with the burgeoning tech industry. However, does our celebration of speed, efficiency, precision and innovation sometimes make technology a superficial distraction rather than a substantive means toward learning? How do we encourage more meaningful intellectual engagement with new media as they transform archaeology? This conference represents an opportunity to take stock and more thoughtfully consider how our embracement of digital technologies is transforming archaeological practice.