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CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT AND FIRST CALL FOR PAPERS CHAT 2006 Department of Archaeology & Anthropology, University of Bristol Friday 10 - Sunday 12 November 2006 Many subscribers to this list will be meeting at CHAT 2005 in Dublin next weekend (see http://www.ucd.ie/archaeology/groups/chat/ for the excellent programme and for further details). In the meantime, we are excited to be able to announce preliminary details of the fourth annual CHAT conference, CHAT 2006, which will see CHAT return to Bristol in November 2006. CHAT 2006 has a web page here - http://www.bris.ac.uk/archanth/events/chat2006.html - which will develop in the coming months. The theme for CHAT 2006 is 'Doing Contemporary and Historical Archaeology: Method and Practice in Archaeologies of the Recent and Contemporary Past'. The call for papers is copied below: 'Archaeological studies of the recent and contemporary past are characterised by an increasingly wide range of methods and practices, made possible by the proximity and sheer quantities of their material. These methodologies form an increasingly significant part of the field's broader contributions to interdisciplinary studies of materiality and material culture, and to theory and practice in other periods of archaeology. Returning to Bristol, CHAT 2006 takes stock of them. The 2006 meeting asks: What do contemporary and historical archaeologists do? In the field, at their desks, and elsewhere? The conference will consider, compare and celebrate the distinctive, diverse and creative methods and practices that are emerging in this field of archaeology, considering interdisciplinary relationships - especially with social anthropology, cultural geography and the creative arts - and future possibilities. There are many approaches in contemporary and historical archaeology to recording landscapes and standing buildings. To field survey, excavation and intervention. To the archaeological use of primary and secondary documentary sources. To studying excavated or collected material assemblages. To undertaking oral history and site-specific interviews for archaeological purposes. To working with communities and individuals. To narrative styles and finding multiple voices, storytelling and performance. To stills photography, film and new media, for archaeological documentation or representation. To studying ephemerality, immateriality or transience in archaeological perspective. To walking and documenting. Writing and film-making. Digging and talking. Visiting and recording. Often, contemporary and historical archaeologies engage with the practices of others through collaborations - working with ethnographers or artists, for instance - appropriating new methods for archaeology, or promoting dialogue across disciplines. We invite challenging paper presentations which address any aspect of these matters of method and practice in relation to archaeologies of the recent and contemporary past. Joint contributions from archaeologists and non-archaeologists are particularly encouraged. Papers from emerging scholars, international colleagues and from archaeologists based outside Higher Education Institutions are especially welcomed. Multimedia or performed presentations are welcome as well as conventional paper presentations. All sessions will be plenary, and will be held in the Wickham Theatre, University of Bristol. 300-500 word paper abstracts should be sent as soon as possible, and by 31 March 2006 at the latest, to [log in to unmask] with 'CHAT 2006' in the subject line. In addition, for CHAT 2006 1,500-3,000 word paper summaries will be expected from contributors by 1 September 2006 for posting on the CHAT web pages. The Organising Committee for CHAT 2006 is Dan Hicks, Angela Piccini, Laura McAtackney, John Schofield, Christine Finn, Cassie Newland and Lisa Hill (further details at http://www.bris.ac.uk/archanth/ Expressions of interest or general enquiries about CHAT 2006 in Bristol should be sent to [log in to unmask] and/or [log in to unmask], with 'CHAT 2006' in the subject line.' All the best, Dan and Angela ................. Dr Dan Hicks and Dr Angela Piccini CHAT 2006 University of Bristol http://www.bris.ac.uk/archanth/