At Home in the City: reflections on theoretical and methodological approaches to contemporary homeless heritage

Summary

The Homeless Heritage project (2009-2013) was a collaborative public archaeology project that sought to document contemporary homelessness from the perspective of homeless people in two British cities, Bristol and York. This paper draws on case studies from the Homeless Heritage project and expands upon a paper given at SHA 2013 (Leicester) when fieldwork was in its concluding phase. Three years on, this paper reflects upon the theoretical and methodological challenges that were present and explores some of the ways in which these were met. Importantly, the paper argues that the city represents a critical space in which to conduct archaeological research into how competing publics are materially constituted and how differences are expressed and may be interpreted. It is suggested that, as populated places, archaeological research in the contemporary city must be located firmly within anthropological discourse which attends to ethical implications. 

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2016   •
• Historical and Contemporary Archaeologies of the City: Opportunities and Challenges

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

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PaperId(s): 297