Making Sense with Sensors: Using Satellites to Document Cultural Erasure

In this workshop, students will learn how satellite technology is transforming the documentation of cultural heritage in contexts of armed conflict and genocide. The workshop will explore a range of case studies from around the world – from the Caucasus to China, from Syria to Ukraine – to learn how researchers acquire, organize, and assess satellite imagery, maps, and cultural heritage inventories, and how they disseminate findings of cultural erasure in different fora.

Adam T. Smith is Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences in Anthropology at Cornell University and Director of the Cornell Institute of Archaeology and Material Studies (CIAMS). CHW co­director.

Ian Lindsa is Associate Professor o r Anthropology at Purdue University, CHW co-founder and director.

Lori Khatchadourian is Associate Professor of Near Eastern Studies and Anthropology at Cornell University. CHW co­founder and director.

Husik Ghulyan is a visiting scholar at the Cornell Institute of Archaeology and Material Studies, and Lead Researcher at CHW.

Co-sponsors: Department of History of Art and Architecture, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Mashtots Chair in Armenian Studies, Program on Georgian Studies, Department of Anthropology, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, NAASR/Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Lecture Series on Contemporary Armenian Issues