Assignment -
For this writing assignment, you are to consider the role of cultural heritage destruction in the struggle for hegemony. Over the last couple of years, we have heard many news stories about the destruction of cultural heritage sites in Syria by ISIS (or ISIL). However, the destruction of cultural heritage is not a new story by any means. In fact, one of the most powerful ways one civilization can insure its domination over another is to destroy or erase their history-effectively rewriting the past by dismantling it and building anew. We have seen some examples of this throughout the semester: the Spanish destruction of Aztec temples, the Romanization of provinces during the expansion of the Roman Empire, and the destruction of political books and histories of conquered kingdoms by the Qin Emperor in China, just to name a few.
For the first part of the assignment you are to find a news article that reports on the destruction of cultural heritage by a group or polity that is not connected to or does not presently honor the site being destroyed. The article must discuss the archaeological significance of the site of cultural heritage. Please try to find an article that has been written in the last 6 months. If you find an article that is older, please email your instructor or your TA for approval (include the link to the article).
The writing assignment is then broken into three parts.
1) First you must summarize the article, including all pertinent details as to the history of the place and objects destroyed, the cultural association(s) of the site, and the details and justifications of its destruction or damage and the perpetrators, etc. Please also include any detail as to what is being done about the destruction, if anything.
2) You must then consider the implications of the site's destruction or damage going forward (today and in the future), for all parties affected (both those participating in the destruction, those being directly affected by it, and the repercussions for the rest of the world). Is it simply that a culture loses a place of special significance? Or is there something more? You may use examples from similar instances we have learned about in this class as a point of comparison. What was gained/lost with the destruction of buildings/idols/writings?
3) Finally, you are to consider how the article portrays archaeology to the public in the article. How does archaeology contribute to the discussion? Were archaeologists directly interviewed? Were the archaeological details presented strongly and as important information, or were they backgrounded? How did the presentation of archaeological information affect the communication of the story to the public?