Faculty and graduate students at Brown University frequently convene discussion groups around topics of mutual interest. Some of these groups are finite in duration, focused around a particular conference or event, while others may continue for years or even decades. Currently, the Brown campus is host to the following groups meeting to read and discuss topics relevant to early cultures:
Museum of Fine Arts Boston
East Asian Colloquium
The East Asia Colloquium invites scholars working across a wide range of disciplines to present talks or lead seminars on the latest research on East Asia and on transregional “crossings” to East Asia. Contact Beverly Bossler.
The Brown Late Antiquity Group
The Brown Late Antiquity Group (BLAG) meets monthly for interdisciplinary discussion of scholarship related to the late antique Mediterranean, both east and west. Contact Isabella Grunberger-Kirsh.
The Bioarchaeology Reading Group
The Bioarchaeology Reading Group at Brown is a gathering of bioarchaeologists across Brown’s departments, where we meet to interpret data, workshop projects, and hone our methods in the study of ancient human skeletal remains. On occassion, we also invite experts from outside universities to share their theories of practice, and host these as events open to all interested community members. Contact Rachel Kalisher.
The Brown Digital Archaeology Laboratory, based in the Brown University Department of Anthropology, is a community of scholars working at the intersections of archaeology and digital practice. The lab was founded in 2016 as a center for teaching and research in archaeology and Geographic Information Systems, and we maintain core interests in that area, as well as a collection of GIS workstations that are available for students and faculty to use. Lab members’ activities also extend to a broad range of other digital domains, including mobile technologies, digital photogrammetry, remote sensing, machine learning, 3d visualization and digital collaboration. Across these domains, we maintain a strong commitment to critical approaches and ethical practice. Contact Parker VanValkenburgh.
The Program in Early Cultures asks scholars who know of additional relevant groups meeting on campus to bring these to our attention by sending a message to [email protected].
The goal of the Cultures and Religions in the Ancient Mediterranean Colloquium is to promote high-level, interdisciplinary dialogue among faculty and graduate students who deal with religion and culture in antiquity in the Mediterranean basin and west Asia, all rather loosely defined.