The Cultural Heritage Experiment

THE CULTURAL HERITAGE EXPERIMENT

The Cultural Heritage Experiment (CHE) explores how archives connect us with our past and future. The CHE has loaned objects from the archives of ISAC to undergraduates since 2018. Your object will allow you to engage with the archive, interact with the past, and imagine new contexts for your archival object. Join us!

ISAC's archives encompass materials spanning nearly 120 years, which document the study of West Asia and North Africa at the University of Chicago. Contained within the walls of the archive are administrative documents, correspondence, dictionary projects, excavation records, film reels, faculty papers, and photography. 

The categories of objects available for loan include: photographs, plans, posters, drawings, maps, silk screens, folios, casts, replicas, and prints. 50 objects will be loaned out to undergraduate students at the University of Chicago. 

There will be a variety of events throughout the academic year such as tours of the ISAC Archives and a weekly trivia contest for ISAC prizes (Winter Quarter). Return Day for objects will take place on Tuesday, May 13, 2025.                                                                                      

Questions? Contact the ISAC Archivist, Anne Flannery (asflanne@uchicago.edu)