Announcing the Final Examination of Ms. Samantha Levy for the degree of Master of Arts in History
This thesis interrogates the role that the sense of smell plays in the experience of place,
arguing that scent has been virtually ignored in public history contexts. The thesis will review
the foundational scholarship on the “history of the senses,” and relate the findings of
interdisciplinary research that demonstrates how the senses alter one’s understanding of the
environment and even the formation of memories. This work is relevant to the field of public
history since smell can be used to captivate the public in a memorable—and potentially more
authentic—engagement with the Mesopotamian past.
To address gaps in the present scholarship, I will create a blueprint for an exhibit space
that will center around the olfactory experience of place. The reconstructions involved in the
design will focus upon medicinal recipes used to treat a variety of ailments in northern
Mesopotamia during the Neo-Assyrian period (ca. 9th to 7th centuries BCE). My historical
investigations of the medical texts from Mesopotamia will focus upon the identification of
ingredients, primarily botanical, with the goal being to recreate ancient remedies for the public
to discover through “scentscapes.” The historical reconstructions will consider modern
conceptualizations of socially constructed places, showing how embodied experiences can be
better represented by historians and cultural heritage professionals.
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