Fall Session   

Sept 19, 2024:  Crime and Measurement

Explore the fast-paced, dynamic field of forensics through the lens of an anthropologist. In this introductory lecture, we'll explore the evolution from the earliest to the latest technology deployed at death scenes and criminal investigations, alongside the various  methods of identifying criminals and their crimes. 

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Oct 3, 2024: Relics and Specimens

The bodies of the dead are compelling, collectable, and important forms of capital for many institutions. Against the backdrop of plundered graves and private auctions, this lecture is a journey into how and why the dead have become such emblematic features of contemporary culture.  

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Oct 23, 2024: Computer Cadavers

Through virtual dissection, the bad smells of the anatomy lab have disappeared. Medical illustrations are now digital renders with perfect representations of the body. While these programs are highly praised, critics insist that its graduates lack the fortitude and resilience that can only come from the experiences of ‘the blood and guts’ of traditional dissection. This lecture explores the new art of human remains and asks whether anything virtual is good for medical students.

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Winter Session 

Jan 21, 2025: Michelangelo: Math + Metaphor

 What did Genesis 2:7 mean to artist Michelangelo as he was dissecting cadavers in his home studio? Through his various bisections of kidneys and craniums, we take a deep dive into some of the more profound translations of the artist’s anatomical and philosophical studies.

 

Feb 4, 2025: The Snake and the Staff

Symbols are everything especially when they’re shrouded in mystery. This lecture is an introduction to the origins of medicine and its magical roots where gods punish, and high priests mediate. The alchemy of the ancient past has never quite disappeared apparent in certain symbols and concepts. Find out how snakes, incantations and amulets have come to define and represent modern medical science.

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Feb 25, 2025: Museum Bodies

The late 19th century was an era of expeditionary culture where museums competed aggressively to acquire and monopolize the material culture from a specific region. Objects and subjects were more highly valued if they were the pristine cultural representations of a people rather than modernized versions. This lecture explores the Indigenous life histories collected and displayed over the last century as living dioramas – reconstructions of a vanishing people – that attempted to capture ‘primitive’ cultures and freeze them in time. 

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