Siobhan Summers is a faculty member in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her research focuses on human skeletal variation and the use of geometric morphometrics to explore patterns of growth and development across and within populations. Her work also engages with the ethical considerations surrounding skeletal collections, with a specific interest in African American burials. Through this work, she strives to promote collaborative community-centered approaches to repatriation, reburial, and memorialization of skeletal remains.

Siobhan Summers beyond bones

The 1856 project podcast situates itself against the larger discourse of our nation’s involvement with chattel slavery and abolitionist efforts. Our podcast explores local histories by interviewing descendants, community leaders, historians, activists, young scholars, artists, and writers. We discuss the involvement of the Maryland Agricultural College (MAC), now known as the University of Maryland (UMD), in the enslavement of Africans and how this history intersects with our present. The podcast investigates racialized trauma and how it has been a building block of this institution. This space is our collective dream, where our communities convene and lay the groundwork towards a marronage and a liberated future. In the spirit of our African ancestors, Ubuntu, I am because you are, and you are because I am.

Siobhan Summers beyond bones

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