HNAK00027U CANCELED, Near Eastern Archaeology and Archaeologists in the media

Archaeology and archaeologist are presented in film often in very stereotype ways. Archaeology is usually shown as adventurous treasure hunt (Indiana Jones) or a field where slightly strange academics carefully brush bones  (some documentations) . Male and female archaeologists are presented as the nerd, the unattractive librarian, the hero, the all-knowing expert. And the stereotypes about the Near East, past and present, who form the background to many of those films and documentations, are numerous. The region is often portrayed as “the other” as being either primitive, or violent, full of dangers and generally foreign. We want to study the ways in which these prejudices and stereotypes are developed, the subtle means by which they are repeated and discuss those examples, which deviate from the norm.

Examples for the films studied in the class are: Indiana Jones (1,3), Lawrence of Arabia, Intolerance, The Mummy (old and new 1) etc.