On Class and Elitism in Archaeology
While archaeology is certainly a politically conscious discipline, with various members involved in political and activist movements, especially focusing on gender and race issues, little has been said, discussed, or done with regards to class and elitism. In fact, it seems that since the advent of...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
De Gruyter
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Open Archaeology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2022-0309 |
| _version_ | 1797682344690188288 |
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| author | Ribeiro Artur Giamakis Christos |
| author_facet | Ribeiro Artur Giamakis Christos |
| author_sort | Ribeiro Artur |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | While archaeology is certainly a politically conscious discipline, with various members involved in political and activist movements, especially focusing on gender and race issues, little has been said, discussed, or done with regards to class and elitism. In fact, it seems that since the advent of postmodernity in the 1970s, class and elitism have become moot topics. The aim of this article is to reflect upon class-based discrimination and elitism in archaeology, first by tracing the changes they have undergone, especially during late capitalist times, and how class has become sublimated to fit the neoliberal agenda; second, the article focuses on several issues concerning class and elitism in the university context in general, and in archaeology in particular, and how these serve as barriers to those less wealthy and fortunate; third, this work highlights how these issues concerning class and elitism in archaeology then affect scientific discourse on one hand, which has become more technologically advanced, and consequently more expensive, and archaeological theory on the other, which in its hectic search for novelty has lost its capacity to truly contribute anything new to our understanding of past and present societies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T23:58:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a36306d4345c4ef084aedbbfabf97132 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2300-6560 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T23:58:17Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | De Gruyter |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Open Archaeology |
| spelling | doaj.art-a36306d4345c4ef084aedbbfabf971322023-09-18T06:32:26ZengDe GruyterOpen Archaeology2300-65602023-09-019146046110.1515/opar-2022-0309On Class and Elitism in ArchaeologyRibeiro Artur0Giamakis Christos1SFB 1266, University of Kiel, Kiel, GermanyDepartment of Archaeology, Sheffield University, SheffieldS10 2TN, United KingdomWhile archaeology is certainly a politically conscious discipline, with various members involved in political and activist movements, especially focusing on gender and race issues, little has been said, discussed, or done with regards to class and elitism. In fact, it seems that since the advent of postmodernity in the 1970s, class and elitism have become moot topics. The aim of this article is to reflect upon class-based discrimination and elitism in archaeology, first by tracing the changes they have undergone, especially during late capitalist times, and how class has become sublimated to fit the neoliberal agenda; second, the article focuses on several issues concerning class and elitism in the university context in general, and in archaeology in particular, and how these serve as barriers to those less wealthy and fortunate; third, this work highlights how these issues concerning class and elitism in archaeology then affect scientific discourse on one hand, which has become more technologically advanced, and consequently more expensive, and archaeological theory on the other, which in its hectic search for novelty has lost its capacity to truly contribute anything new to our understanding of past and present societies.https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2022-0309classelitismnetworklabourcapitalbarrier |
| spellingShingle | Ribeiro Artur Giamakis Christos On Class and Elitism in Archaeology Open Archaeology class elitism network labour capital barrier |
| title | On Class and Elitism in Archaeology |
| title_full | On Class and Elitism in Archaeology |
| title_fullStr | On Class and Elitism in Archaeology |
| title_full_unstemmed | On Class and Elitism in Archaeology |
| title_short | On Class and Elitism in Archaeology |
| title_sort | on class and elitism in archaeology |
| topic | class elitism network labour capital barrier |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2022-0309 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ribeiroartur onclassandelitisminarchaeology AT giamakischristos onclassandelitisminarchaeology |