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/