Seen here: Dr Michael Gilligan, President of the Henry Luce Foundation, confers with Joyce White before the talk, as Luce colleague Helena Kolenda (Program Officer for Asia) listens in. Also included: Dr. Thongchai Winichakul, AAS President (far right). Photo by Ben Abrams.
“It was a dark and gloomy night” on March 29th…….but despite the weather, about 400 people came out to hear Joyce White’s talk, “Hot Pots, Museum Raids, and the Race to Uncover Asia’s Archaeological Past” at the Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference in Philadelphia.
Dr. White spoke about the importance of current archaeological work in Southeast Asia, and threats to its rich cultural heritage posed by frequent looting and destruction of sites . Geared to an audience with a wide range of interests – archaeologists, historians, anthropologists and other scholars of Southeast Asia, as well as non-academics – it received kudos for its content from all.
The talk was sponsored by the Luce Foundation and the American Council of Learned Societies.