What's old to Americans is new to others....the conference is in England.
:)

> Things made in 1600 hardly seem "modern" to me.
>
> Ron May
> Legacy 106, Inc.
>
>
> In a message dated 3/23/2009 2:28:36 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
> [log in to unmask] writes:
>
> 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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>


Kelley Deetz M.A.

Doctoral Candidate
PhD Program in African Diaspora Studies
UC Berkeley