This episode is the first of a two-episode series on the production of archaeological knowledge in Lebanon produced by Nelly Abboud, contributing editor to the Archaeology Section at American Anthropologist. The series invokes the concept of an “open mic,” or a live show in which members of the audience–no matter their professional stature–take the stage to share their observations, critiques, and analysis. Nelly’s guests are early and mid-career archaeologists working in archaeology and museum worlds that remain elitist and exclusively reserved for members of a privileged and well-established social class. In each episode, she gives the metaphorical floor to a young voice in Lebanese archaeology and asks them to discuss their career within this system and the place of archaeology in contemporary Lebanese public life. The series begins with reflections from Lebanese archaeologist Lorine Mouawad about the nature of the archaeological field in Lebanon and how Ottoman and French colonial mentalities continue to inform how the field is managed. She shares her thoughts on the current state of the field and these sociopolitical entaglements in the context of her own experience as a field archaeologist.

Episode Transcript

Closed-Captioning

Credits:

Producer: Nelly Abboud
Executive Producer - Anar Parikh
Featured Music: "Relative Serenity Houdou’ Nisbi هدوء نسبي,” by Ziad Rahbani.