February 15, 2017

Vandalism or Virtuosity? Graffiti and Archaeology in the Present

Samantha Easy

This talk explores the history of graffiti in North America and its place in contemporary culture through an archaeological lens. It is an art form that is simultaneously condemned, condoned, illegal, legal and widely familiar to many of us. This talk asks us to take a closer look at a phenomenon which many of us see or interact with on a daily basis, and to examine the way in which we create and continuously enforce spatial boundaries.

About the Presenter

Sam is a second-year MSc student in the department of Anthropology at the University of Toronto, specializing in Archaeology. Her research interests include early human evolution, site structure, lithic industries and archaeological theory. Her current fieldwork focuses on combining 3D modeling and spatial analysis at an early human site in South Africa. Sam holds a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from McGill University where she concentrated on archaeological approaches to the contemporary past. She has previously published on critical pedagogy and gender studies in archaeology and theoretical approaches to graffiti through an archaeological lens.