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BorderLine Archaeology: a practice of contemporary archaeology – exploring aspects of creative narratives and performative cultural production PhD dissertation 2004 Fiona Campbell and Jonna Ulin GOTARC Series B. Gothenburg Archaeological Theses, No. 29 ISSN 02 82-6860 ISBN 91-85245-01-1 Department of Archaeology Göteborg University Box 200 SE-405 30 Göteborg ©Fiona Campbell, Jonna Ulin and the Department of Archaeology, Göteborg University 2004 English revision Cecilia Kennedy Layout and Typography Per Mellberg Cover image Blood : ©Judy Durey, Perth, Australia 1991 Printed and bound in Sweden Elanders Infologistics Väst AB, Göteborg 2004 BoarderLine Archaeology 3 4 BoarderLine Archaeology ABSTRACT BorderLine Archaeology and into. Both case-studies are connected to a co-produced a practice of contemporary archaeology exploring aspects website http://arkserv.arch.gu.se/ of creative narratives and performative cultural production blalab, where the source materials for the separate projects are stored. The website provides This dissertation is a joint disser- performative cultural production additional perspectives to the tation, written by two people and to produce a body of know- written texts, inviting the visitor about the connectivity of two ledge, a kind of archaeology that to explore further into the world practices; archaeology and perfor- is theoretical yet practical, that is of the Swedish labyrinths and the mance. Its contents focus upon hybrid, sensorial, inter-subjective, world of the family landscape. the creation of a hybrid field of multilayered and performative. study that has only just begun to Some outcomes of this disserta- exist. We have named this disser- The aims and objectives of this tion are; that the practice of tation ’BorderLine Archaeology’ dissertation are approached BorderLine Archaeology is an because we feel that this title through the co-authored chapters, embodied, inter-subjective pro- reveals the relevance of its posi- ’Frontwords’, ’Framework’, ’Pro- cess of reading, writing, interpre- tion as a field of study that is position’, ’Making our way’ and ting and witnessing archaeologi- geographically situated on the ’Afterwords’, where we set the cal matters; that it is a practice of border, on the line where things context, create a theoretical overlapping discourse, of cros- and people meet, at a borderline methodology and sum up our sing borders whilst moving the which is in a constant state of work. But they are also ap- experiences of the participants negotiation and change. ’Border- proached through the production onto and into the matters of Line Archaeology’ is the site that of two separate case-studies, everyday, into the place of the bridges the gap between art and where we implement the theoreti- familiar, unfamiliar, the unspea- academia; it is the meeting place cal methodology of BorderLine kable, the silent, the same and the where subjective experience has a Archaeology and use the process other. central role in the exploration of of performative writing in order alternative ways to approach to reveal its potential. In the case- Keywords: BorderLine Archaeo- archaeological objects in the study ’Turning 180° into the logy, rhizome, border theory, context of belonging to a process walkscape of the labyrinth’ Fiona contemporary archaeology, of cultural production. Campbell presents the labyrinths performance art, performance of Sweden and investigates how studies, performativity, material The purpose of this dissertation the act of moving affects the way culture, cultural production, the is: to create a theoretical metho- we experience, perceive and re- archaeological, performative dology of BorderLine Archaeolo- present the past-present. In the writing, creative narratives, gy, that provides alternative case-study ’Turning into the mapping, parasite, eventscape, strategies to use when dealing walkscape of the family’ Jonna walkscape, site-seeing, site- with archaeological matters; to Ulin deliberates the complexities specificity, subjectivity, otherness, explore the process of performati- of postmemory through an explo- excavation, repetition, re-presen- ve writing as an alternative ration of the family landscape as a tation, past-present, labyrinth, approach in the re-presentation of site of the archaeological, as a site movement, croft, family landsca- the archaeological; to investigate that needs to be interpreted pe, postmemory, family album, archaeology’s potential as a mode through a process of reading onto home. BoarderLine Archaeology 5 FRONTWORDS ”Thinking is not what we think. And we plan to keep on saying Phil for your administrative Our thoughts are strangers. They thank you for a long time, not support and Karl Göran Sjögren, come to us in whimsical shapes least to our supervisors Professor for your technical know-how. that resemble them. We do not Kristian Kristiansen and Lecturer recognize them. Because during Elisabeth Arwill-Nordbladh at ”Thinking is not what we think.” our story’s most interesting the Department of Archaeology, (Cixous and MacGillivray 1998, circumstances, we do not recog- Göteborg University, who began p.35) Sometimes thinking is to nize ourselves. Living is: advanc- to read our work when it was share explicit, implicit and ing straight toward the unknown still in fragments and who conti- perhaps even inadvertent to the point of getting nued reading it until it became a thoughts: Thanks Elisabeth lost...Thinking is not what we book. Their help was not only Beausang for supporting us on think. We try to believe we can responsive but critical and joyful our way and for sharing your think sitting in an office, in a car, as well and they managed to say humour. And thanks to those of in a plane, with us in the cockpit, things that could have caused you at the Department of Archa- our hands on the steering wheel, pain, but without hurting us. eology, Göteborg University who the steering wheel in our hands, managed to find pockets of time but it’s not like that at all, not at ”Thinking is not what we think.” in your own work and for choos- all, thoughts arrive unleashed, (Cixous and MacGillivray 1998, ing to spend these with us. impassioned, from all over, p.35) Sometimes thinking beco- under all shapes and forms, and mes a practical matter that needs ”Thinking is not what we think.” as we do not have enough the thoughts of others to be (Cixous and MacGillivray 1998, strength, energy, electricity, solved: First we would like to p.35) Sometimes thinking is clues, hands, seconds, to receive thank three people for taking coincidental, sometimes thinking them, they pounce on us, stone, some of the heavy load of our is to split thoughts of a similar bombard, daze, transport, fleece backs, thanks Cecilia Kennedy kind with those who travel in us-us, puny seeds, mere ninny for doing the language revision similar directions, with those grains, intelligent but minuscule- and thanks Per Mellberg for who stir things up: Thanks in a dazzling tempest, and with doing the layout and typography, Professor Michael Shanks for our fingers with our lips our we have been lucky having you breaking ground, and for your eyelids, greedy tortured, we try by our side. And then we would enthusiastic support and for all to catch hold of all we can; we like to say thanks to Tony Svens- the fun we have had on our cling frenetically to the flaps, the son and Roberto Gonzales for journey from there to here. folds, the fringes of these genial helping us to create the website Thanks Professor Mike Pearson giants.” (Cixous and MacGilliv- http://arkserv.arch.gu.se/blalab, for digging your way through ray 1998, p.35-36) Through we couldn’t have managed and for always making us see these words we want to say without you. Thanks Professor things from different perspectiv- thank you to all of you, whose Jarl Nordbladh, Chief Librarian es, and thank you for being such thoughts have touched our minds Jon Erik Nordstrand and Prinic- an ideal travel companion. in such a way that they have ple Librarian Mats Cavallin for Thanks Douglass Bailey (’P.P’) triggered us forwards into the turning this doctoral dissertation for making us giggle in the midst wor(l)ds of this book. into an e-book. Thanks Annika of it all, you know we need it 6 BoarderLine Archaeology and thanks for all the opiniona- sion for believing in ’Utgräva- skapsfond 1 for financing the ted discussions that pushed us rna’, it made us move faster final months of this dissertation forwards. Thanks Professor Mats towards the last sentence of this project. Burström for always providing book. us with food for our thoughts ”Thinking is not what we think.” and for sharing our preference in ”Thinking is not what we think.” (Cixous and MacGillivray 1998, exploring the gap in between the (Cixous and MacGillivray 1998, p.35) Sometimes thinking things genres of archaeology, art and p.35) Sometimes thinking is about things, involves the adop- performance. finding your way through a set tion of other peoples’ thoughts of structures, sometimes thinking and the borrowing of their ”Thinking is not what we think.” is stimulated through the support words, images and thoughts: (Cixous and MacGillivray 1998, of others: Thanks Elisabeth Thanks to all those who gave us p.35) Sometimes thinking gathers Engdhal, Vice Dean for graduate permission to print their photo- momentum from other peoples’ students at the Faculty of Arts, graphs images and sketches, work, sometimes thinking gathers for your advice and for suppor- especially Judy Durey for once speed from what people say, ting our wish to pull our disserta- again allowing us to use one of sometimes thinking gathers tion projects together and turn her images as a front cover. We strength from the gestures of them into a collaborative piece would also like to take the opp- others: Thanks John Kraft for of work. And thanks to the ortunity to say, that every at- sharing your passion for laby- Faculty of Arts at Göteborg tempt has been made to secure rinths with Fiona and for letting University for letting us produce permission for copyright materi- her use your work on the laby- the first joint dissertation at the al.