Call for papers
ARCHAEOLOGY AND POLITICS : WHAT RELATIONS, WHAT ISSUES TODAY ?

Organised by Icronos and Kineon Associations

THIS CONFERENCE WILL OPEN THE XIITH INTERNATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL FILM FESTIVAL
OF BORDEAUX. SEVERAL DOCUMENTARIES ON THIS THEME WILL BE SHOWN AT THE FESTIVAL

Introduction
>From its earliest days as a scientific discipline at the beginning of the 19th
c., archaeology has been used, and sometimes badly misused, to build identities
whether local, regional, national, colonial, or even “racial”.  
On the one hand, in ancient, recent, even current history, political powers and
nationalist movements have searched and continue to look for justifications to
their ideologies or claims in archaeology, sometimes with the support of
committed or short-sighted archaeologists. On the other hand, the search for
and salvation of traces of the past, as well as the conservation of what is
discovered have become political issues. Not because they are the object of
rivalries or partisan quarrels, although this happens, but because they have
become a concern for all. Just like environmental issues, they now belong to
the important files (such as those dealing with town and country planning)
which answerable public officers must take into account, whatever their level
of responsibility, be it regional, national, international or even worldwide. 
Considering their importance and their consequences for our culture and the
history of our civilisations, the relations between archaeology and politics
are a burning issue. Two themes will be broached during this day. 

A. The intervention / interference of the political in archaeological research
An example of this that immediately springs to mind is the use by the nazi
regime of archaeological data to validate its ideological positions. But there
are more recent examples which pertain to all world archaeology and which often
take place in western democracies. The controversy born from the discovery of a
Caucasian type skeleton at Kennewick, in the USA, which could cast doubt on the
idea that American Indians were the earliest inhabitants of the continent, is
one example of this phenomenon. One could also mention archaeology in Israel
and Palestine, where obvious issues of geopolitical and ideological
legitimization are superimposed on questions relating to the three monotheistic
religions. Finally, beyond diverging interpretations, cases of material
intervention on remains of the past will be looked at, such as the destruction
of the Buddhas of Bamiyan.

B. Political issues relating to the management and conservation of
archaeological heritage sites
Archaeology brings to light a patrimony which can become representative of a
culture, of the past of a country and, for this reason, become a political
issue, rallying social, economical, cultural and scientific actors. Conflicts
and contradictions between protection and valorisation of a cultural heritage
and the needs for economical and infrastructural development then come to light
and must be solved. For instance, the sites of rock engravings of the Côa
valley in Portugal were going to be submerged under the waters of a dam, but
the Portuguese then international scientific community stopped the destruction
and made the government fall. The decision to start this excavation or to
protect those archaeological remains often depends on political choices at
various levels (regional, national, international) according to the interests
at stake. A town can decide to preserve the earliest traces of its foundation,
a country can promote prestigious monuments relevant to its national identity
or try to have them inscribed on the Unesco World heritage list, transforming
these monuments into cultural ambassadors.  
What is the role of international, national, regional institutions whether they
are state, official, governmental or civil society institutions? What are the
choices, what is the interest of inscribing archaeological remains on
protection and valorisation lists and what are the financial, administrative
and cultural consequences of such a decision? 
All these questions deserve to be discussed and should help us highlight the
diversity and complexity of the relations between archaeology and politics. 

Practical aspects :

Where : Athénée Municipal de Bordeaux
When : Weednesday, October 27, 2010

Paper proposals (200 words) should be sent before June 30, 2010 to Icronos
([log in to unmask]) and/or Kineon ([log in to unmask])

The authors will be informed of the decision of the organisers by July 15, 2010
If accepted, their definitive text should be handed in by September 1, 2010
Length of papers: 30 min
Languages: French or English






-- 
Umberto Albarella
Department of Archaeology
University of Sheffield
Northgate House
West Street
Sheffield S1 4ET
United Kingdom
Telephone: (+) 44 (0) 114 22 22 943 
Fax: (+) 44 (0) 114 27 22 563 
http://www.shef.ac.uk/archaeology/staff/albarella.html
For Archaeologists for Global Justice (AGJ) see:
http://www.shef.ac.uk/archaeology/global-justice.html

"only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned 
and the last fish been caught we will realise we cannot eat money"