 |
| Portobello Road Market, London |
Archaeology frequently makes the claim that the past belongs to everyone and then works very hard to restrict everyone from having any personal connection with it. Jung called that sort of behaviour enantiodromia:
"When he defined enantiodromia in Collected Works 6, Jung described how he uses the term: “I use the term enantiodromia for the emergence of the unconscious opposite in the course of time.” Jung came to realize, through personal experience, in his own life and the lives of his patients, that this emergence of unconscious material always occurs when an extreme one-sided tendency dominates the conscious life. Over time an equally strong countertendency builds, eventually breaking through conscious control."
A recent Guardian article: "Archaeology must open up to become more diverse.", from the title, seems to recognize the problem and promises solutions. In the text, however, such hopes are quickly dashed:
"We don’t need to pander to people from diverse backgrounds to get their attention; we just have to do a better and more strategic job of sharing what we have already got."
Note the use of "pander" instead of "cater". Implicit in this choice is the idea of a particular moral viewpoint being pushed down everyone's throat (imagine a butcher's shop that sold only liver). Then, "diverse backgrounds" is mentioned but not diverse interests.
Later, "tailoring our messages to the audiences we want to engage with.." reveals a desire for exclusivity, but fails to identify its nature, and the article linked by the phrase "lose the jargon" starts with a photo of George Orwell, but references his writing tips rather than his writing on mind control. Could we have a Freudian slip here? That same article also omits the possibility of primate tribal and territorial behaviour outlined in Lirpa Loofouy and Mike Haseler, The Academic Ape (complete text).
Finally, It is hoped that technology will eventually save the day, and feedback is hoped for on what is already presented and not on what should be presented
With the current economic downturn and cutbacks, perhaps a few unemployed archaeologists might get a little inspiration by running a flea market business. Perhaps the sale of a few common and well understood antiquities among the kitchenware and paperbacks might finance more archaeology. Perhaps some of them might start to understand people different from themselves. One can hope, right?
John's Coydog Community page
"Archaeology frequently makes the claim that the past belongs to everyone and then works very hard to restrict everyone from having any personal connection with it"....
ReplyDeleteI often think about what might be behind those warehouse doors and what good they are doing the general public.
Hi Dick,
DeleteIt's a mixed bag: a lot of it is hoarded junk, and of no value for collectors nor archaeologists, but some better items can "find their way" to the public. Security is often lacking. I have seen examples, too, of "unofficial deaccession" where objects are sold or traded to get more desirable objects for a museum. With archaeological stores, theft is the only way things go missing.
Best,
John
Good Morning John:
ReplyDeleteWhen the author of the Guardian article says she wants more people from diverse backgrounds (she herself is an Asian woman) fools no-one.
Archaeology would love to boast it has a diverse mix of diggers from Eton and Harrow regularly working alongside those from inner-city Comprehensives; Tories and Republicans alongside Labour members and Democrats, black and white, and there diversity comes to an abrupt halt. No-one outside the 'ruling elite' is allowed dissension. Everything has to be on their terms. The Council for British Archaeology's website proves the point.
Does the CBA welcome diversity in the form of metal detecting? Yes it does...provided it is done on their terms and then assumes the mantle of metal detecting expertise.
On the other hand, the Portable Antiquities Scheme run and funded by the UK Government and now with over one million artefacts on its database, much to the archaeology's chagrin, recognises the value Britain's detectorists are making to a greater understanding of the heritage.
Best
John Howland
UK
Good Afternoon, John,
DeleteAs always, your perception is spot on! It can often be difficult to perceive the workings of a society when one is living within it. That is one of the things I admire about George Orwell. I was mostly out of contact with Britain apart from from contact with a few like-minded individuals between 1966 and the mid nineties when I first got on line. After getting a number of both rude and ignorant comments on my audacity to have researched anything about the Celts -- "There were no bloody Celts" was one comment I received, I came to the sudden realization both that the Britain I had left no longer existed and that I was now a Canadian.
But Vincent Megaw came to my defence and that started our twenty year friendship. In a fairly recent four way email discussion between ourselves, Julia Farley of the British Museum and Fraser Hunter of the National Museum of Scotland he introduced me as "my old email pen pal". Sharing strong personal interests can cut through some of the nonsense of the elitism you mention and I think that elitism is mostly expressed by those lacking any true passion about a subject. The attacks I was getting were all from "followers" whose only concerns seemed to be their own jobs and keeping in line with those whom they saw as being above them in the hierarchy.
There are a couple of terms commonly used for such people mentioning the nose and boots ;-). There is a mediocre academic numismatist I know of who contributes nothing of note but is quick to publicly disparage anyone who is independent, and we both know an ex academic archaeologist of the same school.
But those both lacking and recognizing true passion soon become part of the faceless bureaucracy of "Big Brother" and as Bob Dylan once wrote:
"For them that must obey authority
That they do not respect in any degree
Who despise their jobs, their destinies
Speak jealously of them that are free
Cultivate their flowers to be
Nothing more than something they invest in...
"While one who sings with his tongue on fire
Gargles in the rat race choir
Bent out of shape from society’s pliers
Cares not to come up any higher
But rather get you down in the hole
That he’s in."
And the uninformed take it all in at face-value.
But they do far worse than just offend decent people: they debase their entire field of study and their noise drowns out its quieter members at its pinnacle who have that passion and recognize it in others regardless of their perceived "class". People like Vincent Megaw and Raimund Karl (who should really be seen as the best friend of independents and metal detectorists in Britain and is not afraid to criticise his peers as can be seen in his recent paper "Every sherd is sacred" where he talks about compulsive archaeological hoarding as a psychological problem with religious overtones).
Such people do a great disservice to archaeology by debasing and fragmenting it into "warring camps" and the public soon tires of this and wants to have little to do with it. As this same public are voters, politicians and governmental bureaucrats see an easy route for cutbacks whenever economic times are bad.
part two follows:
Archaeology is the study of the past from its material remains and in our societies metal detectorists, collectors and the trade have the numerical superiority over professional archaeologists and those of the latter who do not recognize this and work with such people are destined for redundancy. Hopefully, they will become aware of this fact before the profession virtually vanishes. But if it does, there are enough amateurs to carry on, anyway (such as Andrew Selkirk's Council for Independent Archaeology in Britain).
DeleteCurrently, archaeology's only "friends" are those politicians and government bureaucracies with Nationalist mind-control and economic motives who use the archaeologist minorities as canon-fodder to prop themselves up by claiming nationalistic moral victories against old enemies (repatriation) and get "cultural property" agreements from other nations to promote economic advantages for GMO's and so on which favour big-business (Memoranda of Understanding about import restrictions). Most archaeologists are unaware they are being used as "dupes". Whenever their public approval fails, other "dupes" will soon be sought out by such governments.
We need more "George Orwells".
Best,
John
So please explain how, in this strange fantasy future, when 'the profession [of archaeology] virtually vanishes', there will be 'enough amateurs to carry on' at sites such as London's Crossrail, or the planned expansion of Heathrow? How will these amateurs organize themselves? Hooker and Howland hoick it out?
DeleteThere's nothing strange about such a future. Perhaps you are unaware that some of the "fathers" of modern archaeology were amateurs and that spirit and its quality work is still functioning within the Council for Independent Archaeology:
Deletehttp://www.independents.org.uk/
The Neighbourhood and Infrastructure Bill's focus on regional importances and the existence of local societies (supported by the above mentioned society and their friendlier and more productive relationship with detectorists) will shift the focus from the more publicly inaccessible academic archaeology with its poor record in publication, elitist and exclusivist attitudes and lack of passion to an ever evolving vitality on a local level at no cost to the public. In essence, basically the way it was always done, just modernized.
Hi John:
ReplyDeleteI've read some of Andrew Selkirks' stuff and he seems to be possessed of stronger stuff though I wouldn't go so far as to say he's a friend, that remains to be seen, but I like the cut of his jib.
Nevertheless, he's got guts enough to speak his mind and take on the 'elite'. Neither is he blinkered and that's encouraging.
Best
John Howland
UK
Hi John,
DeleteAndrew is not as outspoken as Ray, but is still a keen defender of the independent. We had quite the conversation about things when he gave me a lift from Sheffield to London. I stayed at his house in north London that night before heading off to Norfolk the next morning. He's a Libertarian, btw. I had given a talk at the Council for Independent Archaeology's annual meeting in Sheffield and I found everyone there to be really pleasant and full of passion about what they did. They made me feel most welcome.
Best,
John