SEMINAR:
  Anarchaeology of Graffiti - Sven Ouzman, UWA
  - Archaeology Seminar Series 2014
		
Thu, 22 May 2014 16:00 - Social Sciences Lecture Room 1 (G28)
		
Sven Ouzman
Is Archaeology a tool – or even pathology – of European
colonisation? Does it have liberatory potential? Can there be an
archaeology of today and of tomorrow?

Increasingly, archaeologists are becoming aware of the discipline’s
history and the need to de-colonise much of its theory and praxis. One
strategy is to work with and even to incorporate Indigenous
understandings of the past. Another move is studying ‘contemporary
archaeology’ to reverse the gaze so that it is less ‘us’ studying
‘them’ than ‘us’ studying ‘us’. But such a move can be
indulgent; so we need to examine what is at stake in studying
‘contemporary pasts’. Archaeological analysis of battlefields,
prisons, homelessness, and garbage disposal have proved insightful in
bringing marginalised people and pasts to the fore. In this spirit I use
archaeological and rock art techniques to examine graffiti.
Superficially understood as a modern language of the poor and
peripheral; archaeological analysis shows graffiti to continue an
ancient tradition of politically-engaged place-marking and making. I
illustrate this point using case studies from southern Africa and
Western Australia. I conclude by considering the definition and legal
status of graffiti, heritage management implications, and the ethics of
contemporary archaeology studies.
		
For more information:
  Emily Buckland
  benjamin.smith@uwa.edu.au
  6488 7249

Starts       : Thu, 22 May 2014 16:00
Ends         : Thu, 22 May 2014 17:00
		
Last Updated : Wed, 21 May 2014 12:16