On Wednesday 7th November we are very happy to be hosting a public lecture Associate Professor Gertjan Plets, of the University of Utrecht.
Dr Plets will talk on the theme “Corporate Social Responsibility and Museums: heritage ethics in the age of neoliberalism?”, with the following abstract:
Heritage and archaeology are often theorised as the projects of nationalism; discourses about the past are textured by identity politics and archaeological projects are intricately structured by institutional frameworks and funding schemes. As a result, the ethical frameworks we employ to critically evaluate the politicisation of our practice is heavily influenced by this historic focus on the political influence of the nation state. However, states are not the only players that use culture and heritage to normalise certain political hierarchies or imbue certain norms with new cultural meaning. Drawing on examples from Russia and the Netherlands this paper will investigate how corporate funding of heritage sites and archaeological excavations influences archaeological practices and drastically alters power relations on the ground. This paper will encourage archaeologists to take Corporate Social Responsibility strategies serious and expand their ethical toolkit beyond the nation state.
Join us for this public lecture on Wednesday 7.11. at 16:15-17:45 in Metsätalo (Unioninkatu 40), Sali 4, University of Helsinki. No pre-booking required!
