CALL FOR PAPERS
CHAT 2007: FAITH, HOPE, AND CHARITY
Friday 23rd - Sunday 25th November 2007
This is the first call for papers for CHAT 2007 - the 5th annual meeting
of the conference group for Contemporary and Historical Archaeology in
Theory (CHAT).
The Theme for CHAT 2007 is “Faith, Hope, and Charity: Finding Belief,
Desire, and Benevolence in Archaeologies of the Recent and Contemporary
Past”
CHAT 2007 will be held in Sheffield, UK, and will be hosted by
Archaeological Research & Consultancy at the University of Sheffield
(ARCUS), which is part of the Department of Archaeology.
The full call for papers is posted below. Please forward to students and
colleagues.
A pdf file of the call for papers - for printing and displaying in your
office or department, is online here -
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/files/CONTEMP-HIST-ARCH/
300-500 word paper abstracts should be sent as soon as possible, and by
31st March 2007 at the latest to: [log in to unmask]
For CHAT 2007, 1,500-3,000 word paper summaries will be expected from
contributors by 1st September 2007 for posting on the CHAT web pages.
Keynote speakers will be announced in the first half of 2007.
All correspondence for CHAT 2007 should be sent to
[log in to unmask]
For more information about CHAT, see
http://www.bris.ac.uk/archanth/events/chat.html
--
CALL FOR PAPERS: CHAT 2007
FAITH, HOPE AND CHARITY: Finding Belief, Desire, and Benevolence in
Archaeologies of the Recent and Contemporary Past
Human lives are guided by faith; faith in families and friends, faith in
those that work with us or on our behalf, faith in the religious doctrines
that shape our beliefs and morals, faith in the secular institutions that
govern our day-to-day actions, and faith in the technologies that sustain
us and the material world. We keep faith, lose faith, and often doggedly
adhere to faith; faith is a belief that is held without evidence and
cannot be disproved. When faith is lost or contested we hope for change.
Hope is more than a wish, it is desire tied to expectation. Hope reveals
itself in the trivial, the everyday, the present and the momentary, it
looks to the future, but is grounded in the inheritance of the past. Hope
is also found in the most severe and seemingly hopeless circumstances,
amid poverty or violence; it is an expression of defiance, a rejection of
rationality, a rebuttal of the taken-for-granted. In some situations hope
is lost, while in others hope can be a way of thinking, a form of
intelligence, or a kind knowledge.
Charity draws upon altruism to extend compassion to individuals beyond our
immediate kith and kin. It strives to create social cohesion, yet often
sets individuals and groups apart. Charity creates institutions, buildings
and landscapes. By its very performance charity segregates the needy and
draws a dividing line between donors and recipients, or the haves and have-
nots. CHAT 2007 in Sheffield will explore some of the different meanings
of faith, hope, and charity in contemporary and historical archaeology (c.
AD1500-present). How can these immaterial attributes be studied through
material things? Humans routinely express immaterial ideals through
material things, but at the same time often seek to transcend their
attachment to the material world by constructing elaborate systems of
belief.
It is anticipated that papers will explore (but not be limited to) themes
arising from the colonisation of New Worlds, the clash of cultures, the
consequences of violence, archaeologies of contemporary and historic
slavery, the creation of diasporic consciousness, the spread of world
faiths, utopian communities, ideologies of improvement, archaeologies of
hospitals, workhouses, and confinement, the articulation of dissent, peace
movements, mass trespass, mechanisms of technological innovation,
urban regeneration, environmentalism, archaeologies of sport and leisure,
and counter-cultures.
Joint contributions from archaeologists and non-archaeologists are
particularly encouraged. Papers from emerging scholars, international
colleagues and from archaeologists based outside Higher Education
Institutions are welcomed. Multimedia or performed presentations are
welcome, as well as conventional paper presentations. All sessions will be
plenary.
300-500 word paper abstracts should be sent as soon as possible, and by
31st March 2007 at the latest to: [log in to unmask]
For CHAT 2007, 1,500-3,000 word paper summaries will be expected from
contributors by 1st September 2007 for posting on the CHAT web pages.
--
Dr Dan Hicks
Archaeology & Anthropology
University of Bristol
[log in to unmask]
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