***Apologies for cross-posting***
Call for paper for session on Archaeology and Englishness
Theoretical Archaeology Group Conference 2009; Durham University
http://www.dur.ac.uk/tag.2009/index.html
ARCHAEOLOGY AND ENGLISHNESS
"Field archaeology is an essentially English form of sport" O.G.S
Crawford
As Gordon Brown wrestles with how to promote a sense of 'Britishness',
there are increased signs of revival of a sense of English identity,
whether expressed through the resurgence in popularity of the English
flag or increased call to celebrate St George's Day as a national
holiday. There is also an increasing popular literature exploring the
notion of the 'English' and 'Englishness' often creating essentialised
models of the concept.
However, whilst other discipline, such as art history, literary studies
and geography have long treated the notion of 'Englishness' as concept
worthy of analysis and deconstruction, this has not been true for
archaeology. Whether exploring the development of national traditions of
scholarship or considering the way in which material culture is used to
develop and maintain a sense of national identity, there has been a
tendency for England to be subsumed within a wider British or imperial
discourse (though there are some exceptions e.g. Johnson 2007). This
session aims to restore this balance and consider the extent to which it
is possible to recognise the notion of 'England' and 'Englishness'
within archaeology.
It is hoped to explore a number of facets of the problematic
relationship between archaeology and English identity including:
1/ Materiality and Englishness: the way in which material culture,
structures and landscapes were used to create and maintain a distinct
sense of English identity in past societies;
2/ The development of English traditions of archaeological scholarship
and a consideration of the consequences of the development of 'England'
as a distinct unit of analysis. Is there a distinct English tradition of
archaeology or heritage management?;
3/ The use of archaeology to create discourses of 'Englishness' in
popular culture.
http://outlandish-knight.blogspot.com/2009/05/call-for-papers-archaeolog
y-and.html
For further details contact Dr David Petts, Dept. of Archaeology, Durham
University
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