Theme:
3. The Life of Archaeological Heritage in Society
Session format:
Round table (without formal abstracts, only list of confirmed discussants / session co-organisers to be provided)
Title:
Reviewing the 2020 MERC Manifesto ? Checking in on the Future Direction of Medieval Archaeology in Europe
Content:
Astonishingly, the Manifesto of the Medieval Europe Research Community (MERC) (Medieval Europe Research Community (mercmanifesto.org)) will be five years old in 2025. The 2020 Manifesto aimed to nurture medieval archaeology (defined in broad chronological and geographical terms), in light of its particular visibility, ubiquity, familiarity and resonance, reflecting the priorities of the EU’s 2005 Faro Convention (The Value of Cultural Heritage for Society) and EAA’s 2019 Bern Statement (Archaeology and the Future of Democracy). Hence the 2020 Manifesto’s purpose was to foster a medieval archaeology that transcends borders, collaborates across sectors, engages publicly and contributes sustainable benefits to wider society. The Manifesto’s guiding principles were that this could be achieved through a virtuous cycle in which advancing knowledge of medieval archaeology increases appreciation of its value, which encourages its care and protection, which increases public engagement and enjoyment, which completes the cycle by building capacity for further advancing knowledge. The Manifesto ended with six priority recommendations: 1.Challenge the political misappropriation of medieval archaeology; 2.Promote STEM archaeological careers; 3.Increase capacity in planning and museums; 4.Invest in human resources; 5.Make research openly accessible and collaboratively co-created; and 6.Increase public engagement.
Any manifesto should be periodically reviewed to ensure it remains relevant. The 2020 MERC Manifesto was mostly drafted in what now seems like another era, before COVID19, war in Ukraine, the cost-of-living economic crisis and a myriad of other political, social and economic difficulties the 2020s has already experienced.
Accordingly, EAA2024 seems an appropriate time to review the progress made towards advancing or meeting the 2020 Manifesto priorities, aims and recommendations, review their continued relevance and whether new priorities have arisen, and consider whether any changes to the 2020 manifesto are needed to ensure it can nurture medieval archaeology and wider society into the second half of the 2020s.
All welcome.
Keywords:
MERC Manifesto, Medieval Archaeology, Heritage, Community, Public engagement
Session associated with MERC:
yes
Session associated with CIfA:
no
Session associated with SAfA:
no
Session associated with CAA:
no
Session associated with DGUF:
no
Session associated with other:
Main organiser:
Pam Crabtree (United States) 1
Co-organisers:
Carenza Lewis (United Kingdom) 2
Affiliations:
1. New York University
2. University of Lincoln
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