Archaeology, Science and Technology Studies, University of Oxford In 1922 the Mexican scholar Arreola published a study of maps and images which he had recovered from archives in Mexico City. Much of the material that he presented had not been studied before. Much of it was quite old, some of it dating to the initial…
things
Symmetrical archaeology: Two clarifications
Things are in the limelight. Fresh in the wake of TAG US where the plenary session was focused on the Future of Things, two announcements came through the CHAT (Contemporary and Historical Archaeology in Theory) listserv this past week for thing-oriented conferences/sessions. CHAT 2009 and What’s the ‘Matter’ in Anthropology, both set in Oxford, are…
The Future of Things at TAG 2009
In 1979, TAG was founded to explore interdisciplinary theoretical topics and its relevance to archaeological interpretations. Thirty years later, perhaps it is time to stop and critically evaluate where we are and where we want to go. Thus, to inaugurate a return to TAG’s roots, this plenary session provokes the big question: where are we…
Dov’e il Colosseo? (Where is the Colosseum?)
An enquiry into the multiplicity of relations with an “emblem of imperial Rome” Cecelia Feldman Weiss (Google earth image) Where is the Colosseum? The answer to this question seems obvious: it is a structure that stands prominently in Rome, in the valley between the Palatine and Esqueline Hills, and here it has stood for nearly…
Door knobs and handles
I came across an interesting article on a major German news site about the trend in the US to use door handles (common in Europe) instead of door knobs (until now common in the US). Der knubbelige Türöffner, so ur-amerikanisch wie Apfelkuchen und das Recht, Waffen zu tragen, steht vor dem Aussterben. In US-Eigenheimen finden…
CFP – Method And The Machine: theorising an archaeological approach to technical processes
in Critical Technologies the making of the modern world theme We welcome abstracts for the above-named WAC-6 session. The session is jointly organised by James Dixon (UWE Faculty of Creative Arts) and Brent Fortenberry (Boston University) and subsequent discussion will be chaired by Victor Buchli (UCL) The modern world is replete with technical processes. Whether…