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This seminar explores the relationship between death and governance, with a focus on the archaeology and art history of the Americas. Our readings will examine key social and anthropological theories of death, questioning whether and how they might apply to the archaeological record through in-class archaeological case studies. Themes include interactions with ancestors and spirits, records of political struggles and war, questions about race and ethnicity, incidents of mass killings, debates on power and sovereignty, crime and punishment, and the archaeology of institutional care, science and medicine.