28th Annual Richard Frucht Memorial Lecture Series
Dates: March 23-25, 2022
Keynote Speaker: Dr. George Nicholas
In this revival of the Richard Frucht Memorial Lecture series, the 2022 organizational committee has opted to ask a speaker who emulates the theme of collaboration, togetherness, and community in their research: Dr. George Nicholas (Simon Fraser University).
While Dr. Nicholas is primarily an archaeologist, his research interests and approaches intersect with other anthropological fields, with community and collaboration at the centre of all that he does. Dr. Nicholas’ PhD research (University of Massachusetts-Amherst) focused on early postglacial land use the area now known as Connecticut. After completing his PhD, he joined the Department of Archaeology at Simon Fraser University as a professor.
Over the course of his decades-long career, Dr. Nicholas broadened his research focus geographically and conceptually with a focus on community-based research and cultural and intellectual property issues. Previously, Dr. Nicholas directed the Intellectual Property Issues in Cultural Heritage (iPinCH) project, an international collaborative initiative that explored intellectual property rights and cultural knowledge within cultural heritage research. Currently, Dr. Nicholas is exploring the ethics of studying Indigenous North American ancient DNA and heads the North American division of the International Research Network for Indigenous Studies and Cultural Diversity.
You can register for the keynote lecture (March 23, 2022, hosted via Zoom) here:
You can register for the keynote lecture AND student conference (March 23-25, 2022, hosted via Gather and Zoom) here (open to students and early career community research partners within and beyond the UofA):
Keynote Lecture: Wednesday, March 23, 2022 at 6:30 pm MST
(via Zoom)
"Coming of Age in Uncertain Times: Innocence Lost, Lessons Learned, and Competing Responsibilities in Anthropological Practice Today"
“Who are we?” – Anthropology’s central question is as important today as ever but one that is increasingly challenging to address. The early 21st century has been shaped by questions of representation, #Me Too; Black Lives Matter, Nothing about us without us, and other efforts to address inequity, racism, authenticity, systemic violence and social injustice. How do we tell stories about other peoples’ lives, both past and present—an endeavor central to our discipline—in this highly charged atmosphere? Both Archaeology and Anthropology continue to engage in this discourse in the context of repatriation and reconciliation, research ethics, intellectual property, indigeneity, consent, and decolonization. Navigating through the sometimes-competing responsibilities I have come to have as anthropologist, an educator, an activist, and a citizen took form in graduate school and was later nurtured by like-minded colleagues and community partners. Seeking a more relevant, representative, and responsible archaeology. I discuss these topics through a personal lens—from my coming of age as a graduate student raised in the New Archaeology to my loss of innocence on the Tk’emlups Indian Reserve, and other adventures and lessons learned in the course of working with and for Indigenous peoples for the last 30 years.
Pictured: Dr. George Nicholas.
Student conference registrants also have the opportunity to attend a professional development workshop led by Dr. Nicholas entitled "Communicating Research as It Really Matters: Working with the Media for the Public Good."
Conference Program
23
6:30-8:30pm MDT: Keynote Lecture (Dr. George Nicholas, SFU)
8:30pm MDT: Mingle in the Gather Space
24
10:00-11:45 am MDT: Session 1—Archaeological Investigations Across Time and Space (Zoom)
2:00-3:00 pm MDT: Session 2—Anthropology as Advocacy (Zoom)
5:30-7:00 pm MDT: Career Panel Discussion—What to Do with an Anthropology Degree, featuring Marlisa Brown, Yvonne Kjorlien, Claire Layton, and Brian Leslie
25
10:00-11:45 am MDT: Session—The Human Experience( Zoom)
1:00-2:30 pm MDT: Student Workshop Hosted by Dr. George Nicholas—Communicating Research as It Really Matters: Working with the Media for the Public Good
3:00-4:30 pm MDT: Session 4—The How and Why of Anthropological Practice
7:00 pm MDT: Student Awards and Social/Trivia Night
Student Awards
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Organizing Committee
Rebecca Bourgeois
Rachel Simpson