Session: #734

Discussion session: round table

During the last decade debates in theoretical archaeology came out of the dominating processual-postprocessual trap. Long standing desires to bridge this gap are matched by hybrid or ecclectic approaches while others start from different philosophical angles outside the material|ideational-dichotomy or ask for the death of archaeological theory at all. Simultaneously debates came out of an anglophone dominance and have widened to an international endeavor of multiple philosophical traditions and languages. And – not the least - “theorists” today have entered many respectable institutions like universities or research centers also outside Northwestern Europe.
In this session we want to reflect these recent developments on a meta-level. We do not ask for papers presenting a specific new theoretical approach – interesting as this may be. But we have chosen the format of a Round Table to discuss: What kind of theoretical trends are growing, dominating or declining in different parts of Europe?; What philosophical traditions are at the bases of these trends? And where do they come from? ; What languages are used in discussion and publication? ; Where are “theorists” based? What are their job-perspectives?; What are the plattforms and organisations of Theoretical Archaeology? We invite short and pointed incentives (about 5 minutes) about the state of Theoretical Archaeology in your country, which lead us a broader discussion of these questions.

TAG, Theoretical Archaeology

no

no

no

M.A. Karin Reichenbach (Germany) ^1,2

Dr. Almut Schülke (Norway) ^3,2