Showing Your Work: The Role Of Public Archaeology In The Campaign To Save The ISM

Summary

The summer of 2015 could mark a monumental shift in archaeological and academic research in the state of Illinois. State budget cuts threaten to close the Illinois State Museum (ISM) by the end of the summer. Immediate consequences of this closure include the loss of hundreds of jobs and reduced curation of millions of artifacts. With this looming threat, supporters of the museum are campaigning to prevent its closing. This paper examines how the media campaign to save the ISM uses archaeology as a rhetorical tool to show the continued importance of the ISM. This threat of closure and the subsequent reactive campaign tie into larger issues that the discipline currently and will face. An archaeology that engages with present as well as past relationships with artifacts found on sites is a core issue for the discipline and promises a more fruitful dialogue with diverse audiences and stakeholders.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2016   •
• Praxis and Value in Performing Archaeology: Heritage, Affect, and the Relevancy of Archaeological Research

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 682