A Post-European Association of Archaeologists?
[EN] I am beginning to tire slightly of trying to explain to foreign colleagues what is happening both to and in Spain. The fact is that nothing is going on that has not happened before in other countries subject to hyper-neo-liberal policies. The blame lies with the Spanish oligarchies, but also wi...
| Autor: | |
|---|---|
| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2012 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) |
| Repositorio: | DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:digital.csic.es:10261/60524 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/60524 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Institute of Heritage Sciences Cultural Heritage Incipit Instituto de Ciencias del Patrimonio Patrimonio Cultural Archaeology Historical Archaeology Postcolonial Studies History of Science Theoretical Archaeology |
| Sumario: | [EN] I am beginning to tire slightly of trying to explain to foreign colleagues what is happening both to and in Spain. The fact is that nothing is going on that has not happened before in other countries subject to hyper-neo-liberal policies. The blame lies with the Spanish oligarchies, but also with current European neo-con policies and German hegemony. Perhaps the dream that was Europe has failed and instead turned into a nightmare, because of the intrinsic, fundamental failures of European modernity and history, such as exploitation, slavery, predation...; after centuries of draining resources and wealth from the rest of the world, this model of growth has reached its end. Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Italy and Spain are experiencing difficulties that France, Belgium, the UK, and later countries such as Holland, Germany and Norway will come to suffer. Instead of being a model of the Welfare State for the rest of the world, Europe is becoming a cyber-punk delusion; a combination of high technology and low standard of living. In this text (available in English and Spanish version) I recently wrote for The European Archaeologist (the newsletter of the European Association of Archaeologists), I attempted to briefly discuss this matter, its relationships with current European policies, its correspondence with the actuality of a “Posteurope” understood as a cyberpunk post-historic nightmare, or its correlation with a post-Europe considered as an alternative dream to be constructed, a different Europe for the future. The main aim of the text is to question what the consequences will be of the current processes we are experiencing in Europe on Archaeology, Cultural Heritage and the internal and external dynamics of any European project or association, particularly with respect to the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA). I know these are too many things to be examined with any real precision: a post-Europe as a critique or alternative. Words with an ambiguous dualism that need to be overcome through a symmetrical reading. The text starts with: “In this title I have chosen to use the prefix “post” in its two generally accepted meanings: as a criticism and as an alternative. Therefore, the intention of the title is twofold. On the one hand it is a way of suggesting that if we do not react soon in Europe, we will have to start thinking about a new Europe that will no longer be the one we know. This is a Threat that affects us all, including the EAA. On the other hand, it is a way of suggesting that we should perhaps start to think in the future using reasoning and ideas that are different from those we have used up to now; I am not sure whether this is an Opportunity or a Weakness, but in any event, strengthening European integration against the backdrop of the current context is a challenge of interest to us all, including the EAA...” |
|---|