| Summary: |
Concern for heritage of the recent past has long been confined to
the particular interests of a sub-set of architectural historians
for whom listing post-war buildings (notably of the reconstruction
years) was a clear focus. Archaeologists are also now taking an active
and enthusiastic interest in the modern period; the only surprise
is that it has taken so long. After a steady start, and an almost
inevitable concentration on industrial and military sites and landscapes,
it has quickly become more than the fringe interest it perhaps once
was, a side-show to the main attraction. In local planning authorities,
archaeological units and trusts, as well as national agencies and
universities, the heritage interest in contemporary and historical
archaeology has now emerged with strength and alacrity. English Heritage’s
Change and Creation programme, in partnership with Atkins Heritage,
and the universities of London and Bristol is evidence of this, as
is the Images of Change book (Sefryn Penrose 2007), the recent Modern
Times issue of Conservation Bulletin (2007), numerous published articles
and several entries in the Heritage Reader (Fairclough et al. 2008).
A head of steam is quickly building.
CHAT (Contemporary and Historical Archaeology in Theory)
is a dynamic forum for innovative critical discussion that seeks
to challenge and push the limits of archaeological thinking. To
date this has been achieved through five annual conferences, publications
and an active email discussion group. This year’s conference
takes CHAT in a new direction, exploring connections between these
theoretical perspectives and ideals and the more traditional concerns
of heritage management practice. What can CHAT offer heritage practitioners,
and vice versa? How much of heritage management practice holds relevance
to CHAT? Should the heritage sector retain its focus on that which
is ‘old’ and ‘special’, or should we feel
comfortable with a broader remit, accepting that what we have today
(inherited from the past, and what we create and manufacture ourselves)
is part of the longer-term process of change with which we, as archaeologists,
are closely familiar? CHAT presents particular challenges for heritage
practitioners and agencies: Value judgements for that which is new
and unfamiliar, amongst culturally diverse communities, and the
attendant issues of migrant heritage; traditional conceptions and
practices for recording buildings versus the aesthetic and the evocative;
the archaeology of the ephemeral, the intangible and the un-built,
all things that are harder to trace in earlier periods; and how
inter- or cross-disciplinary should we be? In a world of accountability,
research frameworks and national research agenda, where should our
priorities actually lie? What should a research strategy for contemporary
and historical archaeology contain? And who is best qualified to
do this work: archaeologists, or anthropologists, cultural geographers
… artists and writers even?
Heritage CHAT
provides an opportunity to examine some of these issues at close
range, through plenary sessions that will contain theoretical and
methodological perspectives on contemporary and historical archaeology,
and examples of work in progress that address relevant themes. Papers
are encouraged that challenge the very notion of heritage, and the
commercial and corporate strategies that go with it, as are papers
describing work on contemporary and historical archaeology which
operate within more conventional heritage frameworks. Short (450
word) abstracts should be submitted to any of the organising committee
(below) by email, by the end of May 2008.
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