Class meets June 4 - 23, 2012. This year's "On Location" seminar will ask why those of European or African or Asian descent wish to preserve the remnants of American Indian societies that once and still live here today - and how those who once inhabited this landscape see that past and relate to it. Why do so in the face of political opposition and fiscal crisis? This seminar examines preservation historically, and how it has evolved into a complex process that must accommodate many different stakeholders and a rapidly-changing landscape. More specifically, it examines the politics of repatriation and the economics of obtaining and maintaining heritage sites, with the goal of understanding preservation's powerful place in the cultural imagination. Students will study exhibits and collections at the Cahokia Mounds World Heritage site, the Illinois State Museum at Springfield, IL, the Dickson Mounds Museum near Peoria, IL, and the Osage Reservation in Pawhuska, OK. On Location is an intensive travel-based course offered annually through American Culture Studies. For further information, please contact the office at 314-935-5216 or through amcs@artsci.wustl.edu.