Dear all,
Lynette Russell and I are seeking papers for a WAC6 session on Oral History,
Social Memory, Place and Archaeology (see abstract below). WAC6 takes place in
Dublin, 29th June - 4th July 2008. Information about the conference can be
found at: http://www.ucd.ie/wac-6/
If you are interested in contributing to the session please send us your title
and abstract by 30th November 2007 at the latest. Abstracts should be no more
than 150 words. Please include your name, postal address, telephone number,
email address, and the name and address of your college / university etc.
We will select papers on the basis of the abstracts. We hope to publish the
session after the conference and with this in mind we may request speakers to
produce papers for pre-circulation.
If you have any queries please contact Lynette
([log in to unmask]) or myself ([log in to unmask])
direct so that we don't swamp the CHAT discussion list. Our full details are at
the end of this email.
Thanks
With best wishes
Sian
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Oral History, Social Memory, Place and Archaeology
**************************************************
Oral history and social memory have become more prominent aspects of
archaeological enquiry over the last 10-15 years. Traditionally they have been
set up in opposition to history; oral tradition being regarded as
"subjective" and "personal", in contrast to the "objectivity" and
"distance" attributed to written histories. Research often focused on
stripping away layers of subjectivity, and the patina of re-interpretations, to
reveal what kernels of truth might still exist about past events. More
recently, the personal and subjective qualities of oral tradition have been
reclaimed by historians and archaeologists; valued for their ability to
destabilize grand narratives, and to disrupt and disturb dominant ways of
understanding the past. In archaeology these developments have been prominent
in post-colonial contexts and particularly in indigenous archaeology. Yet there
are also parallel trends in Europe where oral history and social memory are
being held up as means to access vernacular culture and subaltern
understandings of the past.
Papers are sought that explore the issues arising out of these developments:
o What role do archaeological remains play in the production of oral history
and social memory? What of the other "props of memory" - texts, images,
folktales, myths, and places?
o To what extent has a concern with oral tradition impacted on archaeological
enquiry and what role does memory play in the discipline?
oDoes a dichotomy between oral history/social memory and history still prevail
and if so what are its effects on our understandings of the past? How do we
deal with the intersection of written history and oral memory - the way in
which written sources are often based on orality and modern orality is itself
saturated with writing?
o How should we conceive of oral tradition/social memory? Is it something that
is possessed by bounded, coherent groups? Or is it an active, inter-subjective
process through which the past is continually interpreted and negotiated in
relation to the present? To what extent is it disparate, located and fragmented
and how do authoritative narratives emerge and persist?
o In recognizing the salience of oral tradition and social memory, how do we
avoid their objectification, naturalization, or romanticization?
The scope of the session is worldwide. Papers might focus on: indigenous
archaeology and oral tradition; ethnoarchaeology and oral tradition; missions
and mission stories; working class oral tradition and the social memory of
labour; archaeology of war sites and oral tradition; the role of oral tradition
and memory in migrant and diaspora communities; oral tradition and memory
within the discipline of archeology. However, the session is not restricted to
these themes and we hope to encourage dialogue between researchers working with
diverse case studies in different parts of the world.
Session conveners:
Professor Lynette Russell
Director, Centre for Australian Indigenous Studies
Monash University
PO Box 55
Victoria, AUSTRALIA
3800
[log in to unmask]
Dr Siān Jones
School of Arts Histories and Cultures
Mansfield Cooper Building
University of Manchester
Oxford Road
Manchester
M13 9PL
[log in to unmask]
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