Archaeology in 2022: Counter‐myths for hopeful futures

Archaeology in 2022 features more calls than ever for a socially and politically engaged, progressive discipline. Archaeologists increasingly respect and integrate decolonizing and Indigenous knowledge in theory and practice. They acknowledge and embrace the fluidity and diversity of sexes and genders, past and present. They document patterns of migration, ancient as well as contemporary, to combat retrograde and racist narratives that remain pervasive in the public sphere. At the same time, the field has a deep‐seated conservative bastion toward which many scholars retreat, arguing for an “objective” past that is free of political implications or interpretive ambiguity. As anarchist archaeologists, we see the myth of the objective past as one of many interconnected myths that have provided the basis for an archaeology that reifies and proliferates the current social order. We deconstruct myths relating to capitalist and colonialist ideologies of “human nature,” the assumed inevitability of the current order, and fatalistic commitment to dystopian or utopian futures. As alternatives, we present counter‐myths that emphasize the contingent and political nature of archaeological praxis, the creative and collaborative foundation of communities, the alternative orders that archaeology uncovers, and the role of a hopeful past for constructing the possibilities of different futures

Heritage, endangerment and participation: alternative futures in the Lake District

Cultural heritage policy in the UK puts a high value on participation, and heritage agencies often encourage that participation through appealing to the endangered status of the landscapes, sites and monuments in their care. Participation takes many forms, and can involve influencing policy, contributing to cultural outputs and enjoying cultural activities. This paper critically examines the literature and discourse underpinning the endangerment/participation axis and presents a case study of heritage participation in the English Lake District. In order to ground critique in empirical investigation, the case study focusses on the practice of a particular fell shepherd, whose participation in heritage is not motivated by endangerment. The paper then explores the implications of this research for wider thinking about heritage and public life, arguing for the importance of moving beyond endangerment narratives for the creation of resilient heritage futures

Beside the Seaside. The archaeology of the twentieth-century English seaside holiday experience: a phenomenological context.

A recent survey commissioned by English Heritage highlights the rich cultural history of the traditional English seaside resort (Brodie and Winter 2007). Emerging in the eighteenth century, these towns grew in significance before the advent of cheaper continental holidays in the 1960s signalled their demise. Nevertheless they retain an affectionate place within English social memory, and are in their own right distinctive maritime communities. Using an archaeological case study and a broadly phenomenological approach this contribution analyses the experience of the resort holiday through reference to place, space and materiality. Further, it seeks to situate the English seaside resort, as a functionally distinctive post-medieval urban and maritime phenomenon, within a global context of the archaeology of tourism

I’ll Tell You What I Want, What I Really, Really Want! Open Archaeology that Is Collaborative, Participatory, Public, and Feminist

In this paper, my aim is to remake a powerful case for an open archaeology that is always collaborative, participatory, and public–but also feminist and activist. Drawing on more than 10 years’ experience as a community archaeologist I discuss some of the reasons why researchers who employ collaborative approaches to the past may be reluctant to publicly acknowledge the frictions which inevitably arise through their work. By unpacking some of the key concepts employed in these approaches, like ‘community’, ‘public’ and ‘collaboration’, I consider how we might define the limits of inclusivity and openness in the name of democracy. Furthermore, I identify some of the strategies and approaches to community archaeology, which I suggest are more likely to lead to beneficial or positive outcomes, proposing that an explicitly feminist lens will achieve the return to politics and provocation for which some scholars have recently called

From the ground up: cultural heritage practices as tools for empowerment in the Homeless Heritage project

The Homeless Heritage project took place across two English cities (Bristol and York) between 2010 and 2014. The project sought to use a range of participatory heritage practices to engage contemporary homeless people in documenting their perspectives on each city. Drawing on data gathered over three and a half years this paper reflects on how collaborative cultural heritage practices can be useful in recording diverse stakeholder perspectives which can become catalysts for social change. It is further argued that two interactive exhibitions that resulted from the Homeless Heritage project contributed to the democratisation of knowledge, aiding negotiation of the complicated politics of contemporary homelessness in valuable ways

Reluctant Refuge: An Activist Archaeological Approach to Alternative Refugee Shelter in Athens (Greece)

AbstractThe effect of the mismatch between the numbers of forced migrants that host governments are prepared to deal with and the actual number of those seeking refuge is that many forced migrants must find what I term ‘reluctant’ refuge—precarious, unofficial shelter. In this article, I first theorize ‘reluctance’, before introducing the concept of archaeology of the contemporary world in order to establish what makes fieldwork drawn on explicitly archaeological. Following this, I offer a concise history of the current political situation in Athens before describing my methodology. I then provide three ‘portraits’ of sites of temporary refugee shelter in the city—a squat, a non-governmental organization-managed hotel and a co-operative day centre—and discuss how these inter-relate to form a landscape of reluctant refugee shelter. The article contributes an explicitly ‘translational’ (Zimmerman et al. 2010) view of how experiences of shelter affect and shape forced displacement in Athens.</jats:p

From the ground up: cultural heritage practices as tools for empowerment in the Homeless Heritage project

The Homeless Heritage project took place across two English cities (Bristol and York) between 2010 and 2014. The project sought to use a range of participatory heritage practices to engage contemporary homeless people in documenting their perspectives on each city. Drawing on data gathered over three and a half years this paper reflects on how collaborative cultural heritage practices can be useful in recording diverse stakeholder perspectives which can become catalysts for social change. It is further argued that two interactive exhibitions that resulted from the Homeless Heritage project contributed to the democratisation of knowledge, aiding negotiation of the complicated politics of contemporary homelessness in valuable ways

Reluctant refuge: an activist archaeological approach to alternative refugee shelter in Athens (Greece)

The effect of the mismatch between the numbers of forced migrants that host governments are prepared to deal with and the actual number of those seeking refuge is that many forced migrants must find what I term ‘reluctant’ refuge—precarious, unofficial shelter. In this article, I first theorize ‘reluctance’, before introducing the concept of archaeology of the contemporary world in order to establish what makes fieldwork drawn on explicitly archaeological. Following this, I offer a concise history of the current political situation in Athens before describing my methodology. I then provide three ‘portraits’ of sites of temporary refugee shelter in the city—a squat, a non-governmental organization-managed hotel and a co-operative day centre—and discuss how these inter-relate to form a landscape of reluctant refugee shelter. The article contributes an explicitly ‘translational’ (Zimmerman et al. 2010) view of how experiences of shelter affect and shape forced displacement in Athens

I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want: Open Archaeology that is collaborative, participatory, public, and feminist

In this paper, my aim is to remake a powerful case for an open archaeology that is always collaborative, participatory, and public – but also feminist and activist. Drawing on more than 10 years’ experience as a community archaeologist I discuss some of the reasons why researchers who employ collaborative approaches to the past may be reluctant to publicly acknowledge the frictions which inevitably arise through their work. By unpacking some of the key concepts employed in these approaches, like ‘community’, ‘public’ and ‘collaboration’, I consider how we might define the limits of inclusivity and openness in the name of democracy. Furthermore, I identify some of the strategies and approaches to community archaeology, which I suggest are more likely to lead to beneficial or positive outcomes, proposing that an explicitly feminist lens will achieve the return to politics and provocation for which some scholars have recently called

From the ground up: cultural heritage practices as tools for empowerment in the Homeless Heritage project

The Homeless Heritage project took place across two English cities (Bristol and York) between 2010 and 2014. The project sought to use a range of participatory heritage practices to engage contemporary homeless people in documenting their perspectives on each city. Drawing on data gathered over three and a half years this paper reflects on how collaborative cultural heritage practices can be useful in recording diverse stakeholder perspectives which can become catalysts for social change. It is further argued that two interactive exhibitions that resulted from the Homeless Heritage project contributed to the democratisation of knowledge, aiding negotiation of the complicated politics of contemporary homelessness in valuable ways