SAms Debate

SAMS would like to invite both faculty members and Ph.D. students to hold a formal debate on a heated archaeological topic sometime in May. As such, we would like to ask the student body to propose debate questions they believe would be interesting to see their professors discuss/debate. Below are a few examples:

1. Should archaeology be approached as a science? To what extent is the scientific method applicable or useful in archaeology?

2. Do phenomenological approaches to archaeology contribute significantly to our understanding of past human behaviour and/or cognition? Is phenomenology even applicable to archaeological practice?

3. Should museums have the right to sell archaeological and historical artefacts? Do these actions encourage the black market sale of archaeological and historical artefacts?

4. Should amateur archaeology be encouraged, or should archaeology be strictly practised by academics and professionals? To what extent is amateur archaeology harmful to archaeology as a discipline?

Please comment ideas below, or email them to our official SAMS email at ioa-sams@ucl.ac.uk.

Cheers!