Respecting the disrespected: Conversations about unconsented skeletal remains from South Asia in UofL’s teaching collections.
Office of Community Engagement (University of Louisville), the Filson Historical Society, and Crane House invite you
Respecting the disrespected: Conversations about unconsented skeletal remains from South Asia in UofL’s teaching collections
Tuesday, April 29th, 5:30-7:00pm,
Filson Historical Society
1310 S 3rd St, Louisville, KY
5:30-6pm pre-event reception
During the 19th and 20th century, Western research and teaching institutions created a global demand for cadavers and human skeletons. These colonial powers were the impetus for the “red market,” a trade market in human remains that still continues to this day, despite legal steps to stop this practice. Today, colleges, universities, and other teaching institutions still hold in their care and their classrooms many individuals, whose bodies were stolen, skeletonized, and sold by U.S.-based biological supply companies. In the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Louisville, we curate and care for many of these individuals.
This event offers a first opportunity for dialogue with Louisville community members, who wish to have their voices and opinions heard concerning the use, care, and retirement of nonconsenting human remains in our teaching collections. The event will include information about the red market, as well as provide general information about the specific individuals held by the University. Following a panel with State Representative Nima Kulkarni, Joel Buno (Crane House), Kelly Hyberger (Filson Historical Society), and Kathryn Marklein (Anthropology, UofL), attendees are invited to ask questions, share comments, and voice concerns.
Register at RESPECTING THE DISRESPECTED
For additional questions, please contact: Kathryn Marklein (kathryn.marklein@louisville.edu)
Supplementary readings:
- Agarwal, Sabrina C. 2024. "The bioethics of skeletal anatomy collections from India." Nature Communications 15, no. 1
- Agarwal, Sabrina C. 2025. "The disposability and inclusion of Brown bodies." American Journal of Biological Anthropology 186, no. 1
- Robbins Schug, Gwen, Siân E. Halcrow, and Carlina de la Cova. 2025. "They Are People Too: The Ethics of Curation and Use of Human Skeletal Remains for Teaching and Research." American journal of biological anthropology 186, no. 2
- Carney, Scott. 2011. The Red Market: On the Trail of the World’s Organ Brokers, Bone Thieves, Blood Farmers, and Child Traffickers. William Morrow: New York.