Assistant Professor of Anthropology Colin Quinn was recently awarded a Wenner-Gren Engaged Anthropology Grant to support community outreach efforts in Romania. This project, "Archaeology as Advocacy: Celebrating Cultural Heritage and Promoting Sustainability in Transylvanian Mining Communities," explores how cultural heritage outreach can influence awareness and ultimately public policy about sustainable development.
Quinn's anthropological research uses archaeological techniques to examine the development of inequality in the mining districts of Transylvania (Romania). This process that started in the Bronze Age over 3,000 years ago set the region on a path of continuous, often violent, competition over control of metal resources. This deep history continues to shape identity, economic inequality, and political resistance in these mining communities.
During the summer 2018, Quinn and several Hamilton College students will organize outreach events, such as pop-up museum exhibits, to share the results of ongoing archaeological research with community members in southwest Transylvania (Romania). This new grant is designed to share the results of previous research and reengage with community partners who have been instrumental in Quinn's research over the past six years. These outreach events will demonstrate how archaeological research can be used by modern communities to advocate for their own heritage.
The Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research supports significant and innovative anthropological research into humanity's biological and cultural origins, development, and variation through a number of grants and programs.
