Director

 

Lynn Meskell Professor, Department of Anthropology
Director, Stanford Archaeology Center

 

Lynn's current research and teaching interests include a broad range of fields, including an institutional ethnography of UNESCO, natural and cultural heritage in South Africa,  identity and sociopolitics, and international heritage ethics. Lynn views contemporary archaeology as an anthropology of the past, a contextual and nuanced engagement with ancient culture that mirrors the ethnographic project. Her previous work  has examined conservation, biodiversity and cultural heritage and the related discourses of empowerment around the Kruger National Park, ten years after democracy in South Africa. Another field project is focused on the social constitution of the figurine worlds at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey. Her new research focuses on the role of UNESCO in terms of heritage rights, sovereignty and international politics. As founding editor of the Journal of Social Archaeology, Lynn has attempted to forge a vehicle for this dialogue, bringing together a wide range of scholars from diverse fields to constitute the editorial panel. 

 

Interests

UNESCO, World Heritage, South Africa, critical conservation, social theory, materiality, ethics, ethnography, Çatalhöyük figurines, Egypt

Contactlmeskell@stanford.edu, (650) 724-1751

488 Escondido Mall, Building 500, Room 115