CHAT, University of Amsterdam, 3-5 November 2017
Conference presentation at the Contemporary and Historical Archaeology in Theory conference in Amsterdam.
Abstract
This paper sketches out an initial research programme on the theme of ‘speculative archaeologies’ – defined here as the varied ways in which artists, writers and others have imagined future historians, archaeologists or their equivalents confronting ‘the now’ as an archaeological object. Tracing a hitherto unexplored thread across different artistic practices, the paper aims to show how the hypothetical (mis)interpretation of the present can help us to rethink various ethical and political concerns, from the articulation of new cosmopolitan memories to the shifting emphases of ‘progress’ away from economic development. Linking together creative works as diverse as Joseph Gandy’s fantastical drawings, Umberto Eco’s satirical short-stories, Azra Aksamija’s Future Heritage Collection, and the music of indie-rock band Low, the paper responds to and builds upon a broader ‘speculative turn’ in the humanities (Bryant, Srnicek & Harman 2011), connecting this new philosophical trend with the increasingly widespread projection of the archaeological imagination into the posthuman future.
Colin Sterling 