Critical Public Archaeology: Confronting Social Challenges in the 21st Century

by Camille Westmont (Editor)

Overview

Critical approaches to public archaeology have been in use since the 1980s, however only recently have archaeologists begun using critical theory in conjunction with public archaeology to challenge dominant narratives of the past. This volume brings together current work on the theory and practice of critical public archaeology from Europe and the United States to illustrate the ways that implementing critical approaches can introduce new understandings of the past and reveal new insights on the present. Contributors to this volume explore public perceptions of museum interpretations as well as public archaeology projects related to changing perceptions of immigration, the working classes, and race.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781800736153
Publisher:	Berghahn Books
Publication date:	09/13/2022
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.63(d)

About the Author

Camille Westmont is the postdoctoral fellow in historical archaeology in the Department of Southern Studies at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. She received her doctorate in anthropology at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Table of Contents

Introduction: In Pursuit of a Critical Public Archaeology
V. Camille Westmont

Part I: Work with Communities

Chapter 1. Aiming for Anti-Racism: Policies and Practices of a Publicly Engaged Archaeology Department
Mary Furlong Minkoff, Terry P. Brock, and Matthew B. Reeves

Chapter 2. Legacies of Shame, Legacies of Hope: Community Archaeology at a World War II Japanese American Internment Camp
Jeffery Burton and Mary M. Farrell

Chapter 3. Archaeology as Performance: Reanimating the Portland Wharf Landscape with Critical Public Archaeology
M. Jay Stottman

Part II: Advancing Methods

Chapter 4. Towards a Critical Archaeological Museum
Monika Stobiecka

Chapter 5. “You can’t replant old trees”: The Combined Approach of Memory and Public Archaeology to Reinvestigate Court Housing in Liverpool, UK
Kerry Massheder-Rigby

Chapter 6. Archaeological Narratives as Critical Public Archaeology: Illuminating the Realities of Past and Present Forced Prison Labor through Story
V. Camille Westmont

Chapter 7. Expanding Critical Archaeology in the Digital Age: Building User Interfaces and Sharing the Assemblages of Archaeology in Annapolis Across the Globe
Adam Fracchia

Part III: Situating Critical Archaeology

Chapter 8. Public Archaeology through the Lens of Historiography
Torgrim Sneve Guttormsen

Chapter 9. Public perceptions of archaeology in the museum
Chiara Zuanni

Conclusion: Critical Public Archaeology in Context
Suzie Thomas

Editorial Reviews

“This volume is a must-read for anyone interested in doing more subversive and committed work in the field of social archaeology, now that it has a critical theoretical framework…One of the strengths of this publication is that the narratives arising through the different chapters of this book will contribute to fostering archaeologies and heritage management commitments to addressing contemporary issues and proposing more diverse, dialogic, and reflexive methods.” • Public Archaeology

“… this is a strong and coherent collection of papers which constitutes an advancement of the field of public archaeology. The volume exemplifies many of the most important themes, practices and processes of contemporary public archaeology, such as the politics of the past and the socio-economic-political contexts in which archaeologists operate.” • Gabriel Moshenska, UCL Institute of Archaeology

From the Publisher