FRIENDS OF ASOR WEBINARS
Columns as Cultural Capital: The Jordanian Practice of Gifting Archaeological Objects
Jerash – Temple of Artemis جرش – معبد ارتميس
Friends of ASOR present the next webinar in our monthly series on , August 28, 2022, at 6:00 pm EDT, featuring Prof. Elizabeth R. Macaulay and moderated by Prof. Ѵǰ. At the New York 1964/65 World’s Fair, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan sponsored a pavilion. Archaeology and the nation’s cultural patrimony were central to several of the displays in the pavilion and were essential to one of the key aims of the pavilion: promoting American tourism to Jordan. A particular vision of archaeology and antiquity, which connected Jordan to the Greco-Roman and Christian pasts was emphasized. The pavilion also aimed to shape American public opinion about the larger geopolitics of the region through a politicized mural about refugees and water rights in the region. As part of the pavilion, a column from Jerash was presented to the city of New York as a lasting token of friendship between Jordan and the United States. In this lecture, the gift of the column will be contextualized in the larger Jordanian practice of gifting columns and capitals to major American cities or various universities with a history of excavations in Jordan. Gifting of columns and capitals is also compared to the Jordanian gifting of a Dead Sea Scroll jar to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (also connected to the World’s Fair) and the Jordanian practice of selling duplicate “Dead Sea Scroll jars” in the 1950s and 1960s.
This talk will examine the public presentation of Jordan’s ancient cultural heritage at the fair and the effectiveness of columns and capitals as diplomatic gifts. The webinar will conclude with a live Q&A session moderated by Prof. Morag Kersel (DePaul University).
Dr. Elizabeth R. Macaulay is an Associate Professor in the Liberal Studies, Middle Eastern and Digital Humanities Programs at the Graduate Center, CUNY, where she also serves as the Executive Officer in M.A. in Liberal Studies. She is a past Trustee of ASOR and a current Trustee of the Archaeological Institute of America and is the Museum Reviews Editor at the American Journal of Archaeology. She is the author or editor of six books, including Bayt Farhi and the Sephardic Palaces of Ottoman Damascus in the Late 18th and 19th Centuries (AASOR/ Manar al-Athar, 2018) and Antiquity in Gotham: The Ancient Architecture of New York City (Fordham, 2021).
If you register, you can now get the link to purchase Dr. Macaulay’s book, Bayt Farhi and the Sephardic Palaces of Ottoman Damascus in the ASOR store. The volume is $25.00 for ASOR Members and $35.00 for the public for those with shipping addresses in the US. Unfortunately, this offer is not available for those outside of the US.
This webinar will be recorded and all paid registrants will be sent a link to view the recording.
ASOR Sustaining Members: $0 | ASOR Members: $6 | Public: $12
Season Pass: ASOR Sustaining Members: $0 | ASOR Members: $75 | Public: $150
To receive your ASOR member discount, . If you are new to ASOR, please click on the “” link to register your e-mail address and choose a password for our online store. Once logged in, navigate to “Meeting and Event Registration” to register for the webinar and pay the fee. Each paid registrant will receive a confirmation e-mail when you pay for the webinar. If you do not receive this e-mail, then you are not registered. Please e-mail membership@asor.org with any questions or issues with registering.
You will be e-mailed the Zoom Webinar link in the week prior to the lecture on August 28, 2022. If you do not receive the link by the close of business on the Thursday before the webinar, please e-mail membership@asor.org immediately. This webinar will be recorded and all paid registrants will be sent a link to view the recording.
All proceeds from this lecture are used to fund scholarships for members as well as increasing ASOR’s online resources, which are free to the public.