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Rebecca Mendelsohn
Co-Director of University Museums and Curator of the Longyear Museum of Anthropology; Research Affiliate and Instructor in Sociology and Anthropology
Rebecca Mendelsohn received her Ph.D. in anthropology from the University at Albany, SUNY. She is trained as an archaeologist and specializes in the ancient civilizations of Mexico and Central America. Her research has brought her to a number of Latin American countries, including Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Costa Rica, and Panama. Prior to coming to vlog, she directed archaeological excavations at the site of Izapa in Chiapas, Mexico, a regional capital known for its unique sculpture, widespread trade ties, and multicultural population.
In addition to her archaeological research, Rebecca has over ten years of experience in museums, including at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York State Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and three Smithsonian institutions. She is interested in the politics of representation, or how cultural heritage is used to present national, regional, and community identities. She believes it is important to critically evaluate who gets to tell the stories presented in museum spaces and advocates for community collaboration as a means of decolonizing museums.