Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology & the Ancient World
Brown University
Box 1837 / 60 George Street
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: (401) 863-3188
Fax: (401) 863-9423 [email protected]
Discussion Questions
Based on what we have learned and discussed, why do you believe that “places (and stories for that matter) are therefore never finished, they are always already in the process of being remade,” as stated in Professor Harmansah’s work? How does this statement affect your initial beliefs about place and space? (Jess)
Professor Harmansah states that there is a divergence when talking about the historical context of Eflatun Pinari and Yalburt? What are these differences and how do they relate to my first question regarding their story never being finished? (Jess)
How does a visit to the Leech Pond and participation in Tunnawi’s ritual, also known as “the ritual of the river,” represent a mutualistic relationship? How do these rituals compare with other rituals that involve the use of water? (Jess)
What are the benefits of the series of technologies / digital spectacles that are now shaping much of the discourse on space, place, and landscape? How can deep local histories and bodies of indigenous knowledge contradict or support this discourse? Should these stories be conceptualized exclusively or pieced together? (John)
The 1992 Mughal Empire incident, as brought up by Professor Harmansah, in which a mob of Hindu nationalists/supporters of Vishva Hindu Parishad destroyed the Babri Mosque, brings up the fascinating involvement of archaeologists and how they can potentially become responsible for certain events or public debates concerning sites. For better or for worse, what do you think an archeologist’s ideal role or place should be in dealing with places, which, as we know, have deeply embedded and established identities? Can this role be detrimental to place? Or does it not matter considering place is very elusive and cannot be cannot be finished/bounded by linear narratives? Still, whose definition of place should have more weight, the local communities (past or present) that are culturally and historically engaged in the site or outsiders who gain access to it and make their interpretations? (John)
I’m intrigued by the Hittite and Hurrian natural/cultic entity The “Divine Road of the Earth.” What Western world, specifically American, sites and moments can you think of that are ideal for holding important political events? What is the cultural significance and symbolic power of each? (John)
"The rebuilding of the pool in the Roman period presents us an alternate, more distanced relationship with the past," (24, Harmansah). If this healing pool was rebuilt and still seen as healing, then is it possible to consider our facets, showers, and bathtubs places of healing as well; where the water comes from natural springs, rivers, and lakes? The water is the same, transported from the natural place through a system of pipes; however where we get the water from is different. The water has gained distance from its original location just like the pool has gained distance with its relationship to its past. Also considering on page 12, what would be our "elaborate purification rituals?" Do they take place in our bathrooms where we "purify" ourselves after a long day of work by taking a shower? Is this ritual of taking a shower in some sense healing and can it be seen as an "everyday (healing) ritual?" (Annabel)