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Date: | Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:27:17 -0400 |
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CHAT 2009
KEBLE COLLEGE, OXFORD UNIVERSITY
Call for Papers
Modern Materials:
the archaeology of things from the early modern, modern and
contemporary world
Friday 16 - Sunday 18 October 2009
How does the study of material things contribute to our understanding
of the early modern, modern
and contemporary world? What is the distinctive contribution of
archaeology in these studies?
CHAT 2009 focuses on the archaeological study of ‘Modern Materials’ -
from ‘small things forgotten’ to
large and complex technological artefacts; and from discrete, single
objects to large, disparate
assemblages.
The study of material things is a central element of all archaeology.
But some have argued that a
concentration on materials fetishizes things, focusing too much
attention on the empirical detail of
materials or manufacture. Equally, others have suggested that material
culture studies are too often
strangely dematerialised – focused only on social relationships and
not on the physicality of objects.
Responding to both these arguments, CHAT 2009 considers and celebrates
the diversity of
archaeological studies of ‘modern materials’, and their
interdisciplinary contribution.
Papers are invited that focus on the study of particular ‘modern
materials,’ broadly interpreted: the
many material dimensions of the early modern and modern periods and
the contemporary world (c. AD
1600 to present).
Questions addressed by the conference will include, but are not
limited to:
- Is it helpful to define the archaeology of the modern world
according to its focus upon material
things?
- How can contemporary and historical archaeology relate to
anthropological material culture studies?
- How can we rethink archaeology’s distinctive approaches to studying
things as important tools and
resources, rather than simply methods for dry empiricism?
Keynote speakers and discussants: to be confirmed March 2009.
Registration: £40 (including tea and coffee, wine reception, excluding
accommodation)
Abstracts of no more than 300 words should be sent to the conference
committee at
[log in to unmask] by 31 May 2009 at the latest. Any queries should
also be sent to the same
email address.
The conference website will be updated in the coming weeks: http://www.contemp-hist-arch.ac.uk/
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