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In Search of King Midas: New Discoveries and Reinterpretations at Gordion (Turkey)

For over half of a century, the University of Pennsylvania Museum has conducted excavations at the ancient site of Gordion in central Turkey. The site is best known as the capital of the Iron Age kingdom of Phrygia and the home of the semi-legendary King Midas, who ruled around 725 BC and whose enormous wealth […]

The Archaeology of Shipwrecks: Treasuring the Past?

To the media and in the minds of the general public ‘maritime archaeology’ often suggests the study of shipwrecks, perhaps because of the prominent role they played in the development of the subject over the last half century. In reality maritime archaeology encompasses all past human activity relating to seas, interconnected waterways and adjacent locales. […]

“Close to Jedenew”

Kevin Vennemann will be delivering an introduction to and a lecture from his widely acclaimed debut novel Close to Jedenew, published in German by the prestigious Suhrkamp Verlag 2005 and in English, by Melville House in 2008. A group of children from the rural village of Jedenew, which might or might not be located in […]

The Non-Aligned Movement and the Cold War, 1961-1973

The Non-Aligned Movement was created to stand apart from the Cold War. Lorenz Luthi argues, however, that the Non-Aligned Movement was a product of the Cold War and was almost torn apart by it during the 1961-1973 period. From the start, Cold War issues--such as the division of Germany, nuclear weapons, the Middle East conflict, […]

Through Soviet Jewish Eyes: Photography, War, and the Holocaust

In January 1942, three years before Americans arrived at Buchenwald and Dachau, Jewish photographers working for the Soviet press became the first liberators to photograph the unprecedented horror we now call the Holocaust. These photographers participated in a social project in which they were emotionally and intellectually invested; they had been dispatched by the Stalinist […]

Conflict, Consensus, and the Crossing of Boundaries in the Premodern World

The Ancient Borderlands Research Focus Group at the University of California, Santa Barbara is pleased to host the 3rd Biennial Graduate Student Conference on Ancient Borderlands. The full conference program appears below. FRIDAY, APRIL 13TH COFFEE/ MEET AND GREET-- starting at 2:00pm INTRODUCTIONS AND WELCOMING COMMENTS-- 3:00pm Dean David Marshall, Prof. John W. I. Lee, […]

“Surf’s Up! But Where and How High?” Measuring and Riding Waves

It may mean Beach Boys and wood-paneled station wagons to you, but surfing today is more a matter of wave prediction data and real time animated film about key surf spots, published on surfing websites. Take a break from your taxes and come join us at noon on Sunday, April 15 at Moby Dick Restaurant […]

Holocaust and Genocide

Prof. Bauer will discuss why humans are the only living creatures that kill their own kind in large numbers, and the essential similarities and difference between the Holocaust and other genocides. What do we mean by “genocide”? Why are humans the only living creatures that kill their own kind in huge numbers? What place does […]

Waves of Resistance: Surfing and History in Twentieth-Century Hawai’i

The author of Waves of Resistance: Surfing and History in 20th Century Hawaii will be speaking, following an introduction by Dr. Teresa Shewry (UCSB, English) of the Center for Literature and the Environment. Surfing has been a significant sport and cultural practice in Hawai'i for more than 1,500 years. In the last century, facing increased […]