Unquiet Pasts

This important book addresses critical themes in the development of archaeology as a reflexive self-critical discipline in the modern world. It explores the ethical political and cultural tensions and responsibilities which need to be addressed by archaeologists when working within networks of global ecologies and communities examining how authoritarian traditions can exacerbate the divide between expert and public knowledge. Moreover it analyses how localized acts of archaeology relate to changing conceptions of risk heritage culture identity and conflict. Bringing insights from Alain Schnapp Michael Shanks Isabelle Stengers Bruno Latour Ulrich Beck John Urry and others to cross-disciplinary discussions of these themes Unquiet Pasts shows how archaeological discourse can contribute towards engaging and understanding current dilemmas. It also shows how archaeology as a localized and responsibly exercised practice can play a part in building our commonly shared and experienced world.