A resounding take-away from the meeting underscores the importance of MCAP's work: anthropology is crucial for a civil, democratic society and so anthropology needs to be robustly publicly engaged. Anthropology as a discipline aims to make the world safe for human diversity, as Ruth Benedict said. Archaeology -- as a subdiscipline of anthropology -- provides a deep historical dimension to this imperative.
One way to make the world 'safe for human differences' is to involve the public in research from the start to finish, wherever possible. The broadest benefit of this strategy is that it allows non-academics to better appreciate scientific and historical research processes and cultivates a skepticism towards political attacks on science and scholarship.
All gravity aside, the AAA was also joyful and fun, and not without a run-in or two with anthropological luminaries.
"Here's lookin' at you, Franz Boas"
