CULTURES OF CONTACT: ARCHAEOLOGY, ETHICS, AND GLOBALIZATION

A CONFERENCE HOSTED BY THE STANFORD ARCHAEOLOGY CENTER

FEBRUARY 17-19, 2006

"Cultures of contact" is taken as the organizing theme of our
conference, within a framework that recognizes the inseparable nature
of the past, present, and future.  The archaeological study of contact
between past cultures is deeply imbricated with present-day
socio-political relationships and discourse, and brings to the fore
issues of colonization, culture change, resistance, and the rights of
indigenous and descendant communities.  Moreover, with the increasing
tempo and scale of contact that is characteristic of globalization,
ethical approaches must increasingly guide our negotiation of heritage
and cultural resource management.  Three broad themes are therefore
distinguished: (1) cultures of contact in the archaeological record,
(2) the development of a nuanced and practicable code of ethics for
archaeology (contact between archaeologists and the 'many publics' who
have a stake in archaeological research), and (3) the problematization
of "culture contact" in a global environment.  Possible topics within
these three themes may include, but are not limited to:

CULTURES OF CONTACT IN THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD

-Interaction as process: colonization, entanglement, symmetrical
exchange, ethnogenesis, hybridization and creolization
-Agency, modes of resistance, and other reactions to contact
-The aftermath of contact: reconstructing identities, redefining
boundaries, and recreating ethnicities
-Case studies for cultures of contact
-How to define cultures of contact
-Methods for identifying and reconstructing cultures of contact in the
archaeological record
-Sites of trauma: monuments and memorials

THE ETHICS OF CULTURE CONTACT IN THE PRESENT: ARCHAEOLOGY, PUBLIC
OUTREACH, AND SOCIAL CHANGE

-Empowering positive social change: archaeologists and social engagement
-Heritage management policy-making
-Education/public outreach
-Sites of conflict
-Indigenous rights
-History as power in nationalist agendas
-Mediation and negotiation amongst the stakeholders of heritage
management decisions
-Professionalism, accountability, and stewardship: responsibility to
the 'many publics' and the discipline of archaeology
-Local community involvement in developing research programs,
'listening to' versus 'assisting' local communities, and the
responsibility of archaeologists in ensuring that research benefits
local communities
-Repatriation, reburial, and living traditions

ARCHAEOLOGY AND GLOBALIZATION

-Commercialization, tourism, and intellectual property
-The role of multi-national corporations and trans-national
organizations in cultural resource management
-The search for the authentic and the "exoticization" of the local
-The past as a commodity and a tourist destination
-Illicit trade in antiquities
-World Heritage Sites and the global culture model
-The winners and losers of a globalized heritage

The proceedings of the conference will be published online in the
Stanford Journal of Archaeology.  Abstracts of no more than 300 words
should be sent via email (preferred) or post to the addresses listed
below by FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 23rd 2005.  Please include your name,
affiliation, e-mail, telephone number(s), and postal address.

The authors of the accepted abstracts will be notified by October 12th
2005, and final papers of no more than 20 pages (double-spaced) in
length must be submitted by WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1ST 2006 for advance
circulation.  Further details, updates, and the papers for advance
circulation will be posted on our conference website at
http://metamedia.stanford.edu/projects/culturesofcontact.

Please email abstracts and questions/comments to:

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Or by post to:

Cultures of Contact
Stanford Archaeology Center
Stanford University
Building 60, Main Quad
Stanford, CA 94305-2170