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

Abstract

Later in the article, I explore how an explicitly feminist critical theoretical perspective might improve collaborative community-based participatory research projects, performing important work for women and highlighting the existence and causes of other forms of oppression, many of which -racism, homophobia, Islamophobia, antisemitism -are undergoing a disappointing revival in these globally troubling times. In so doing, I remake a powerful case for Open Archaeology that is collaborative, participatory, public, and also feminist and activist.To start then, what do we mean by the terms, 'collaborative', 'participatory', 'public' and 'democratisation'? Collaborative, participatory, public, and democratisation: a discussion of terms commonly used in the context of community archaeologyRather like the nuanced differences between the terms 'multidisciplinary', 'interdisciplinary ', and 'transdisciplinary' (Nilsson Stutz, 2018, p. 49), terms such as 'collaborative', 'participatory', 'public', and 'democratisation' are used liberally in the titles of community archaeology journal articles but rarely unpacked. This is not necessarily because community archaeologists do not think deeply about what these terms mean (Atalay, 2012). On the contrary, efforts are being made to properly analyse collaborative archaeology approaches in such ways that evaluation based methodological frameworks may be shared (Guilfoyle &

Values-Led Design Cards: Building Ethically Engaged Archaeology and Heritage Experiences

“…In others, it may be possible to work from within". To pursue positive actions, we need spaces that encourage collaborations and tools that help us to enact transformations, ensuring that our practices are genuinely open and ethical [16,30].…”

“…A review of mission and policy statements of archaeological professional organisations, heritage agencies and university departments, including the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists' recently published information sheet on Delivering Public Benefit from Archaeology [12] readily evidences a sense of self-conscious awareness of archaeological practitioners' responsibility for public value. This active foregrounding of archaeology's relevance to contemporary society's needs, its social impacts, and potential for wider public and environmental benefit is likewise reflected in, and simultaneously promoted by, a growing body of critically reflective scholarship which explicitly discusses archaeology's wider context, e.g., [13][14][15][16][17][18]. This positioning is furthered through the close links between archaeology and heritage, which directly wire the presentation of archaeological evidence, interpretations, and ideas into contemporary issues of identity politics, power, ownership and sustainability.…”

“…The manifesto, for example, of the Association of Critical Heritage Studies [19], a body which concerns itself with the relationships between heritage and society, explains heritage as "a political act" and elsewhere it is described as a "cultural process", whereby "values and meanings" are created in relation to the objects, places, and structures that are the typical focus of archaeology (and cognate disciplines such as architecture) [20] (pp. [15][16].…”

“…Wylie [25] (p. 578), also see references therein) is amongst many who, across decades now, have recognised that no matter the context, we will always be confronted by "political precarity and intellectual uncertainty" as individuals converge around the archaeological record. To grapple with such instability, we must move beyond a focus on products, in favour of investing in community-led activist practices with "radically different tools, ones grounded in a stance of epistemic and political humility that take a recognition of uncertainty and the need for situationally tuned and responsive engagement as their point of departure" [25] (p. 584); also [16].…”

Forum: Populism, Identity Politics, and the Archaeology of Europe

“…Global politics have undergone a dramatic transformation in the past few years, and a number of archaeologists have recently been calling, myself included (Hanscam, 2019), for a more politically engaged archaeology (Brophy, 2018; Gardner, 2018; González-Ruibal et al, 2018; Popa, 2019; Kiddey, 2020). Given the current climate of resurging reactionary populism and far-right nationalism, it is vital that archaeologists, as producers of knowledge about the past, take an active stand against its political misuse.…”