BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 METHOD:PUBLISH PRODID:-//Telerik Inc.//Sitefinity CMS 15.1//EN BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Eastern Standard Time BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20251102T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYDAY=1SU;BYHOUR=2;BYMINUTE=0;BYMONTH=11 TZNAME:Eastern Standard Time TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20250301T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYDAY=2SU;BYHOUR=2;BYMINUTE=0;BYMONTH=3 TZNAME:Eastern Daylight Time TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DESCRIPTION:The Anthropology Department welcomes Dr. Pamela L. Geller\, pro fessor of anthropology at the University of Miami\, to deliver her lecture \, “I Wish You Had Created Me So That I Could Die: An Archaeology of the P lastic Bag.”The plastic T-shirt bag is a ubiquitous though small thing for gotten. Its utilitarian value is predicated on the presumption of low-cost \, convenience and durability. But at what price\, in what kind of conditi ons\, and for how long? Archaeological evidence marshaled highlights the m ultiple paradoxes of plastics. Here I track the lifecycle of this artifact \, working backwards from landfill to recycling facility to archive storag e room to excavation unit to factory floor. Such contextualization reveals information about typology\, degradation and significance.An archaeology of plastics also signals a paradox in the discipline. Practitioners' use o f plastics takes myriad forms—bags\, tarps containers. But few archaeologi sts call such material culture into question. Given the growing documentat ion of plastics' adverse effects on human and planetary health\, however\, continued reliance may be read as complicity. The identification of susta inable alternatives is one possible solution\, though it is one not easily realized. Perhaps\, then\, plastics' paradoxes nudge archaeologists to as sess the unsustainability of our disciplinary ethos\, especially those pra ctices that promote endless excavation\, storage and curation of archaeolo gical materials. DTEND:20250925T213000Z DTSTAMP:20260515T143045Z DTSTART:20250925T200000Z LOCATION: SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:I Wish You Had Created Me So That I Could Die: An Archaeology of th e Plastic Bag UID:RFCALITEM639144378455713607 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

The Anthropology Department welcomes Dr. Pa mela L. Geller\, professor of anthropology at the University of Miami\, to deliver her lecture\, “I Wish You Had Created Me So That I Could Die: An Archaeology of the Plastic Bag.”

The plastic T-shirt bag is a ubiqui tous though small thing forgotten. Its utilitarian value is predicated on the presumption of low-cost\, convenience and durability. But at what pric e\, in what kind of conditions\, and for how long? Archaeological evidence marshaled highlights the multiple paradoxes of plastics. Here I track the lifecycle of this artifact\, working backwards from landfill to recycling facility to archive storage room to excavation unit to factory floor. Suc h contextualization reveals information about typology\, degradation and s ignificance.

An archaeology of plastics also signals a paradox in th e discipline. Practitioners' use of plastics takes myriad forms—bags\, tar ps containers. But few archaeologists call such material culture into ques tion. Given the growing documentation of plastics' adverse effects on huma n and planetary health\, however\, continued reliance may be read as compl icity.

The identification of sustainable alternatives is one possib le solution\, though it is one not easily realized. Perhaps\, then\, plast ics' paradoxes nudge archaeologists to assess the unsustainability of our disciplinary ethos\, especially those practices that promote endless excav ation\, storage and curation of archaeological materials.

END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR