Colonial Institutions and Their Enduring Material Aftermaths

The role of institutions and the experience of institutional life have received significant attention from historical archaeologists for over the past decade. Institutions ‘in their many and varied forms ‘have played important roles in regulating society and furthering the aims of many colonial/imperial projects. Their remnants, ‘be they material and/or ideological’, often persist long after independence. Drawing on Ann Laura Stoler’s concept of ‘Imperial Debris (2008) we would like to invite papers that offer an archaeological perspective on institutions in colonial and imperial contexts. This can include consideration of their enduring aftermaths, as well as exploring how the colonial experience of institutionalisation has ‘acted back’ on the imperial heartland. We aim to provoke debate, discussion and synthesis between scholars utilising both singular and comparative perspectives and welcome submission from any geographical context, 1500 to ‘present.