The session aims to reassess society's values and appropriation of the past as documented through a) the movement of individuals involved in producing knowledge of the past, and through b) the movement and displacement of archives and material heritage.
Session speakers are invited to discuss developments whereby the movement of archaeologists and archaeological objects shaped the formation of ideological concepts and paradigms; to examine object biographies of displaced objects and archives of archaeologists; and, hence, to reconstruct how modern notions of the ideological and material value of objects were created through movement. As for the notion of individuals, our session will touch upon the following facets of the emerging field of "archaeological ethnography" (Ascherson 2009; Hamilakis and Anagnostopoulos 2009): the politics of archaeological practice, the creation of identities as well as the contemporary relevance of the material past for a diverse public that produces and consumes culture in modern institutions (e.g., museums, universities, world-wide web).
Case studies are not limited to archaeologists, as they embrace diplomats, dilettanti or entrepreneurs searching for traces of past cultures. We welcome papers on militant archaeologists entangled in nationalistic regimes or non-conformist archaeologists in quest for new narratives. Other potential thematic focuses can be:
- the movement and appointment of research fellows as part of political agendas and institutional policies,
- the movement of archaeologists due to expeditions and fieldwork, and their careers and research agendas as an outcome of shifting ethnic boundaries.
Studies examining how the changing self-perception of the archaeologist’s role in society has shaped the discipline of archaeology in the last two centuries should address how current theoretical trends have elaborated on this question in an attempt to realign with globalization. In addition, relevant archival and ethno-historical research projects documenting the movement of archaeological artifacts and aiming at rethinking the epistemological basis of archaeology are particularly welcome. The ways in which the curation and reinterpretation of these artifacts in museums today forms new post-modern cultural palimpsests can also be addressed.
Bibliography:
Ascherson, N. 2009. "Foreword," Public Archaeology: Archaeological Ethnographies, Vol. 8. No.2-3: 63.
Hamilakis, Y., A. Anagnostopoulos 2009. "What is Archaeological Ethnography?," Public Archaeology: Archaeological Ethnographies, Vol. 8. No.2-3: 65-87.
Interested speakers should submit a title and abstract (max. 200 words) to Georgia Flouda (gflouda@chs.harvard.edu), and Alex Nagel (nagela@si.edu) before February 15, 2015.