Session: #336

Theme & Session Format

Theme:
Global change and archaeology
Session format:
Session with keynote presentation and discussion

Title & Content

Title:
Reaches of Empire: Historical Archaeology and New - Global - Insights into European Expansion
Content:
Using ‘Europeanization’ as a framing device, this session will illustrate the increasing global reach of historical archaeology, and the ways in which the archaeology of the more recent past can shed light on the nuances of social, economic, and ecological transformation.

Taking a broad and encompassing view of historical archaeology, it is apparent that as a sub-discipline, approach, and conceptual framework, this sub-discipline continues to flourish, tackling the complexity of working across both material and textual sources of evidence. This session requests submissions that offer one or more of the following: new insights on the archaeology of the colonial experience; innovation in methods that push the boundaries of how we study ‘historical archaeology’, or theoretical positions that offer fertile ground for debate.

Presentations and discussion will emphasize, though not be limited to: assessing the state-of-the-field; how new technologies as well as connections to other disciplines are contributing to the development of this sub-discipline; observing how approaches to studying historical archaeology are evolving in different parts of the world, whilst questioning how we can learn from and complement each other?

However, ultimately, with increasing challenges to contemporary populations, it is hoped that papers will centralize on one issue in particular: how can the archaeology of the recent past help us to understand, moderate, and even mitigate, the negative legacies of colonialism for people and environments?
Keywords:
Historical Archaeology, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Pacific, Methods and Theory, Contemporary relevance
Session associated with MERC:
yes
Session associated with CIfA:
no
Session associated with SAfA:
yes
Session associated with CAA:
no
Session associated with DGUF:
no
Session associated with other:

Organisers

Main organiser:
Krish Seetah (United States) 1
Co-organisers:
Saša Čaval (United Kingdom) 2
Julia Haines (United States) 3
Affiliations:
1. Stanford University
2. Reading Univeristy
3. University of Virginia