CALL FOR PAPERS
RESISTING ARCHAEOLOGY Workshop at Uppsala University, 17-20 May 2007
This is an invitation to a discussion on archaeology as a critical
practice. That is, a discussion taking its point of departure in the
notion that archaeology as a discourse can be a critique of the
contemporary and not defined by its relation to the past.
Archaeology is commonly defined as a practice dealing with the traces of
the past in the present. Archaeological dialogues focus by tradition on
issues regarding the past. The interpretative side of archaeological
practices, in contrast to the scientific and descriptive sides, has been
stressed recently, emphasizing the significance of situating archaeology
in the present. Contextual approaches as well as studies in the field of
the politics of the past are two examples. While the interpretative
effects and limitations of archaeological practices are stressed, these
approaches leave a considerable theoretical blind spot, since they evade
self-critical illuminations of the archaeological.
The polemical debates of the 1980s and 1990s are cherished memories by
now. The critical side of archaeology seems to have vanished from the
agenda as the theoretical debate became milder. Nevertheless, the
relevance of archaeology in contemporary cultural and political discourses
has not changed as drastically as to explain the current empirical (re-)
turn.
We feel that archaeology, with a few notable examples, has failed to
define itself as a critical practice, in the full sense of the word. That
is, archaeologists are not encouraging a discussion focusing on the
foundations of their own discourse, which is the prime purpose of a
critical practice. Critique in archaeology is commonly viewed as a mean
towards the end of further improving our understanding of the past. This
is an illusionary critique since archaeology (in its ideal/utopian form)
is not subjected to examination. If archaeology is viewed as a
disciplinary place, then it is characterized by its steady outward-looking
practices. Adopting a critical perspective, in contrast, means that the
focus is turned inwards to the archaeological place as such, aiming to
illuminate the above-mentioned blind spot.
Accordingly, we aim to initiate a critical debate about archaeology today.
While elaborations on how others (e.g. laymen, politicians, commercial
enterprises,and disciplinary predecessors) use archaeology are common,
there is a lack of self-critical studies on our own practices. We invite
papers that explore the position of archaeology in our contemporary world,
and welcome particularly contributions examining how archaeology
contributes to sustain modernity.
The workshop will take place 17-20 May 2007 at the Department of
Archaeology and Ancient History, Uppsala University, Sweden. The
discussion will be based on pre-circulated papers. Participants should be
prepared to submit a manuscript prior to the meeting and a final paper for
publication after the workshop.Please submit a 250-word abstract to
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May 2006.
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