Oxford Lecture Series – Pitt Rivers Museum
26.09.2025
Ideas
As part of the annual lecture series at Oxford’s School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Barker Langham gave a multi-part lecture in the distinctive setting of the Pitt Rivers Museum.
The session opened with a look back at our roots in archaeology and how our work has developed across the cultural sector over the years.
We shared how we evaluate our projects and use those reflections to guide future work, drawing on a case study from Abu Dhabi to show how regional knowledge can inform wider practice. The talk also explored how culture is experienced in everyday life, and the role museums can play in building meaningful connections between people and collections.
The lecture was based on the paper “Spectacle and Participation: A New Heritage Model from the UAE” published in the Journal of Arabian Studies and reflected our ongoing interest in audience engagement and the evolving role of cultural institutions.
