Transforming archaeology: activist practices and prospects

Archaeology for whom? The dozen contributors to this volume suggest nothing less than a transformation of the discipline into a service-oriented, community-based endeavor. They wish to replace the primacy of meeting academic demands with meeting the needs and values of those outside the field who may benefit most from our work. They insist that we employ both rigorous scientific methods and an equally rigorous critique of those practices to ensure that our work addresses real-world social, environmental, and political problems. A transformed archaeology requires both personal engagement and a new toolkit. Thus, in addition to the theoretical grounding and case materials from around the world, each contributor offers a personal statement of their goals and an outline of collaborative methods that can be adopted by other archaeologists.

Transforming archaeology / Sonya Atalay, Lee Rains Clauss, Randall H. McGuire and John R. Welch -- Betwixt and between: archaeology's liminality and activism's transformative promise / Lee Rains Clauss -- Engaging archaeology: positivism, objectivity and rigor in activist archaeology / Sonya Atalay -- Situating activism in archaeology: the mission of science the activist affect, and the archaeological record / Quetzil Castañeda -- We have met the enemy and it is us: transforming archaeology through sustainable design / John R. Welch and Neal Ferris -- Working class archaeology / Randall H. McGuire -- Reconciling inequalities in archaeological practice and heritage research / George Nicholas -- Transforming the terms of engagement between archaeologists and communities: a view from the Maya region / Patricia A. McAnany -- From the bottom up: transforming communities with public archaeology / M. Jay Stottman -- Activating archaeology / K. Anne Pyburn -- Beyond archaeological agendas: in the service of a sustainable archaeology / Neal Ferris and John R. Welch -- Archaeologists as activists, advocates, and expert witnesses / T.J. Ferguson.