Social archaeology and the theatres of memory

Hall, M

Abstract

Archaeology is a study of ways in which we express ourselves through the things that we make and use, collect, discard and take for granted, all archaeology is social archaeology. And, because the past is always part of the present, social archaeology is closely concerned with the construction of memory. This has been particularly evident in representations of South Africa’s past during a time of extensive social transformation. Within a short span of time, the celebration of an enduring white domination has been superceded by the recollections of a dismantled apartheid. Material culture - the tangible traces of memory - plays a central part in this theatre of memory.

Citation

Hall, M. (2001). Social archaeology and the theatres of memory. Journal of Social Archaeology, 1(1), 50-61. https://doi.org/10.1177/146960530100100104

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2001
• Deposit Date: Dec 7, 2009
• Journal: Journal of Social Archaeology
• Print ISSN: 1469-6053
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 1
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 50-61
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/146960530100100104
• Keywords: apartheid; colonialism; material culture; memory; museums; South Africa
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/146960530100100104