We are pleased to announce the theme for issue 29.2:
The Archive Issue
Volume 29.2, November 2014
In past and present cultures, individuals and societies have collected, altered and discarded records of different media, thereby shaping archives. Archives are a fundamental archaeological resource as collections of finds and their associated documentation (such as diaries, reports, drawings, photographs and digital data) not only enable reinterpretation of original assessments but also allow for new research to be carried out. Despite this potential, the study of archives is often overlooked by archaeologists because contemporary understandings of archives tend to be limited in terms of their purposes and what they are supposed to encompass.
Other disciplines including heritage studies and history have recently expanded their focus from traditional concerns such as management procedures. Researchers have started asking more fundamental, theoretical questions about the purpose, use, social context and academic potential of archives, bringing facets such as audience, compilation and access to the forefront of enquiry. Archaeological studies are increasingly adopting these focuses as well as cultivating new approaches and methods for archaeological purposes. The challenge to re-centre archives into the mainstream of archaeological enquiry has led to a reassessment of their uses and the roles they can play in expanding archaeological knowledge.
This ARC issue aims at exploring new approaches and perceptions towards archives in an archaeological context. How has archaeology as a discipline, in both theory and practice, been affected by the reassessment of archives? How can data recovered from archives offer new perspectives on material and quantitative data gathered from fieldwork? In what ways does an increase in archival access for non-experts and new audiences lead to different perspectives on archaeological data? How can socio-political assessments encourage a reflexive approach prompting archaeologists to turn the lens upon their own collecting and archival practices, offering a critical consideration of knowledge production? What can be learnt about the nature and history of archaeology from studying archives as historiographical tools?
We encourage contributions from all disciplines in order to develop an inter- and multi-disciplinary approach towards the archive issue. Possible topics may include but are not restricted to:
- The theoretical underpinnings of the utility and purpose of archives and their importance to archaeology
- Archives as a tool of academic enquiry; research, reassessment and reinterpretation of archival records
- Innovative archival management strategies and developments in governmental and non-governmental guidelines
- Access and audiences, including Web 2.0 platforms, data sharing and museological access/display
- Creation, compilation and curation, including reflexive approaches to creation by archaeologists as well as museological/heritage curatorial approaches with regard to knowledge production
- Historiography and archives; field diaries, reports, production of archaeological knowledge in the past
- Archives as a social construct; the creation of identities and individual and collective memories and exploring the relationships between archives, their creators and users
Please send an abstract of not more than 500 words to
Leanne Philpot (
lp303@cam.ac.uk) and
Renate Fellinger (
rf296@cam.ac.uk) by
16th August 2013. The full article should not exceed 4000 words. The deadline for the first drafts will be 31st October 2013, for publication in November 2014. Style guidelines and notes for contributors can be found at
http://www.societies.cam.ac.uk/arc/contribute.html.
The Archaeological Review from Cambridge is a non-profit journal managed and published on a voluntary basis by archaeology postgraduate research students at the University of Cambridge. Issues are released twice a year. Although primarily rooted in archaeological theory and practice, ARC accommodates a wide range of perspectives in the hope of establishing a strong, interdisciplinary journal which will be of interest to those engaged in a range of fields, and therefore breaking down some of the boundaries that exist between disciplines.
http://www.societies.cam.ac.uk/arc/
