Slow Archaeology + Fast Capitalism: Hard Lessons and Future Strategies from Urban Archaeology

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Slow Archaeology + Fast Capitalism: Hard Lessons and Future Strategies from Urban Archaeology," at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Recent calls for archaeologists to “slow down” invite us to apply facets of the slow science movement to archaeology. Archaeological slow practices include consulting with community members at all project stages, developing social networks beyond academic projects, designing long-term programs, engaging archaeology in politics and policy, and reflecting critically on digital methods in fieldwork. While no cohesive approach to “slow archaeology” exists, slow practice’s intention is to create conditions for meaningful archaeological work that are not beholden to so-called efficiency. In urban settings this can be difficult to foster, when the rapid demolition of cultural resources and the different configuration of archaeological recovery projects reflect a pace of “fast capitalism.” Participants share lessons and experiences from their work to consider the challenges and opportunities for practicing slow archaeology in urban settings, and to discuss broader issues of accessibility, equity, privilege, and collaboration that determine the success of slow archaeological approaches.