Season 05 - Episode 04: Dismantling the Ivory Tower (Open Mic Edition) - Part Two

This episode is the second 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. 

Today, we hear from Dr. Sarah Mady, lecturer in anthropology at Fordham University. Before moving to the United States in 2015, Sarah was a full-time field archaeologist and a research assistant at the University of Balamand, where she had been building a career since 2006. In this episode, Sarah connects the current state of the field of Lebanese archaeology to decades of colonialism, politics, sectarianism, and elitism. 

Nelly Abboud is a freelance museum educator, founder, and director of Museolab, a cultural Lab that works on promoting cultural heritage through the use of experiential learning tools and methods. She is also a researcher interested in heritage and museum studies, cultural memory, public archaeology, and social collective impact.

Dr. Sarah Mady holds a Ph.D. from Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She is an adjunct lecturer at Fordham University. Her research studies healing shrines in North Lebanon and the ways in which women and mothers have produced and used these spaces as a part of their daily lives and lived religion. 

NB: Since this episode was recorded, Sarah Mady has successfully completed her doctoral studies and now holds a PhD in Archaeology from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

Credits:

Writing, Production, & Editing: Nelly Abboud

Production Support: Anar Parikh

Thumbnail Image: Sarah Mady

Featured Music: ‘Hanging Moon’ by Le Trio Joubran

Executive Producer: Anar Parikh