Archaeology, Heritage, and Reactionary Populism

McGuire, Randall H. (ed.)
González Ruibal, Alfredo (ed.)

A timely collection on the role of public archaeology in an era of reactionary populism
“Grapples with the questions of whether and how the interests, values, objectives, practices, and knowledge produced through community-based archaeology align and misalign with individuals and social groups who embrace populist values.”—Siobhan Hart, author of Colonialism, Community, and Heritage in Native New England
“Brings together some of the most exciting archaeologists currently working to build a decolonized, just archaeology, revealing how complicated it really is to do archaeology for ‘the community.’ These authors expand on a theme that plagues all of us who do public outreach: whose stories are we privileging and how might our work be co-opted in ways we would not prefer or anticipate? Anyone interested in community or public archaeology should engage with this topic.”—Allison Mickel, author of Why Those Who Shovel Are Silent: A History of Local Archaeological Knowledge and Labor
Reactionary populism, seen in radical anti-intellectual movements around the globe, is changing how politics are practiced and how people view themselves and others. Amid increasing polarization and extremism, the social role of archaeology is more relevant but also more difficult. This volume explores how populist politics present new challenges to public archaeologists in North America, South America, and Europe.
Archaeology, Heritage, and Reactionary Populism shows that the field of community archaeology must do more to address how these movements can distort history. Contributors demonstrate why researchers and heritage managers should be aware of the interests their work advances, discuss the ethics of working with communities that promote extreme populist values, and examine the ways governments affect heritage regulations. Acknowledging that community archaeology is often very localized, they argue that it can and should connect with and inform broader historical narratives.
Written by practitioners from different subfields of public archaeology, this collection problematizes commonly held assumptions about community, the public, and political action. At the same time, it moves beyond critique to propose practical forms of engagement. This reflective and critical approach will help archaeologists mobilize their work to engage with the growing influence of reactionary populism.