Dear All,
CALL FOR PAPERS
Please find below my proposed session on 'The Archaeologies of Military
Occupation in the 20th and 21st Centuries' for this year's European
Association of Archaeologists meeting at Riva del Garda, from 15-20th
September. If you would like to speak in this session, please get in touch
with me as soon as possible, and by the end of April at the latest.
All best wishes,
Gilly Carr,
University of Cambridge
The Archaeologies of Military Occupation in the 20th and 21st Centuries
Within the discipline of Conflict Archaeology, the study of the
materiality, battlefields, landscapes, and war memorials of WWI and WWII
have emerged as a rich source of archaeological information. This session
proposes to explore another aspect of conflict archaeology: the archaeology
of military occupation. The military occupation of one country by another
has been a common theme throughout history. While 21st century examples
include the military presence in Iraq, Afghanistan and Gaza, the 20th
century abounds with occupations, most notoriously the multiple German,
Japanese and Soviet occupations of WWII.
Military occupation results in a certain unique series of relationships
between people, namely:
* An unequal power relationship between occupied and occupier * Struggle
and defiance, whether armed or unarmed, between people * Collaboration,
co-operation and compliance between occupier and occupied * Unequal access
to resources, such as food, fuel and raw materials * Control of populations
by observation, surveillance and imprisonment. * Subjugation and
destruction of populations by destruction of cultural property and heritage
These relationships can have a material correlate which is accessible to
the archaeologist. These can include:
* Symbols of identity used as defiance
* Gifts between occupier and occupied
* 'Make-do-and-mend' home-made items to cope with shortages
* Trench art made which speaks of the experience of occupation
* Fortifications built in occupied territory
* Prison, internment and concentration camps built in occupied territory
Occupation also leaves scars on a society; a legacy within the populations
who experience it, and which can be passed down through the generations.
These, too, can be examined by archaeologists, and might include:
* Issues of memorialisation: who is remembered, when and where?
* The treatment and reuse of fortifications in the present
* The presentation of occupation heritage to the public through tourism
* The commemoration of occupation in the present.
* The collection of occupation memorabilia
This session calls for papers that explore any of these issues in currently
or formerly occupied countries of the 20th and 21st centuries. Additional
subjects that contributors might wish to explore include:
* The material culture of resistance and partisan groups * The destruction
and looting of cultural heritage, towns and villages * The preservation and
conservation of post-occupation heritage * Narratives of occupation
presented in museums * How military occupation affected the landscape and
how that landscape is understood and used today
Dr Gilly Carr
University of Cambridge
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