38 Modern Scotland: Archaeology, the Modern past and the Modern present Images © as noted in the text ScARF Summary Modern Panel Document September 2012 Modern Scotland: Archaeology, the Modern past and the Modern present ScARF Summary Modern Panel Report Chris Dalglish and Sarah Tarlow (Editors and Panel Co-Chairs) With panel contributions from: Rowan Julie Brown, David Caldwell, David Cranstone, Chris Dalglish, Althea Davies, Piers Dixon, Aonghus MacKechnie, Morgana McCabe, Tony Pollard, Andrew Spicer, Sarah Tarlow For contributions, images, feedback, critical comment and participation at workshops: Donald Adamson, Tom Addyman, Derek Alexander, Steven Boyle, Stuart Campbell, Dave Cowley, Clive Fenton, Shannon Fraser, David Gaimster, Michael Given, Miles Glendinning, Kevin Grant, Neil Gregory, Alex Hale, Candice Hatherley, John Hume, Charles McKean, Roger Mercer, Alison Morrison- Low, Jen Novotny, John Pickin, Tanja Romankiewicz, Katinka Stentoft Dalglish and Mark Watson ii Modern Scotland: Archaeology, the Modern past and the Modern present Executive Summary Why research the archaeology of the modern past in Scotland? Researching the modern past is a highly relevant endeavour. Knowledge and understanding of the recent past provides us with a long-term view of our lives in the present, revealing, evidencing and interpreting the genealogy of contemporary society. Research into the modern past provides a critical perspective on the present, uncovering the historical origins of our current ways of life and our social, material and environmental relationships. Research into the modern past helps us to understand how things came to be as they are today and, in providing this historical perspective, to better reflect upon the future we should work towards. It might be asked: why is archaeological research needed to help us understand the modern past? What does archaeology add to our understanding of a period which is so well covered by documentary history? A (common) response to this question is to argue that archaeology provides alternative lines of evidence and an alternative perspective on the past. Documents are created by particular people for particular purposes, portraying the world from a certain perspective, recording certain things and ignoring others as unimportant or irrelevant. Archaeology is no more objective nor comprehensive in its interpretation of the past, but its alternative perspective – founded on an understanding of the material aspect of past lives – can provide new knowledge and understanding, even for well- documented periods. But this is only a partial answer to the question and there is another, more crucial point to be made: archaeology is not just the study of the past through its material remains, it is the study of the relationship between people and their material environment. Our sense of self and our social, economic and environmental relationships are created and transformed through engagements with the world we inhabit. We affect our environment, and it affects us. The archaeology of the recent past thus investigates the mutual dependence of people and their material environment. Seen in this light, the question becomes: how can people hope to understand the history of modern life without the archaeological perspective? Panel Task and Remit The task of the Modern Panel is to produce a framework for archaeological research investigating modern Scotland. The broad aim of research in the Modern Panel’s field is to achieve knowledge and understanding of life and society in the modern world with particular reference to the relationships between people and their material and natural environments. The term ‘modern’ refers both to a period in history and to particular relationships and ways of being and living. The framework which the panel has produced does not strictly codify future research questions nor catalogue procedures for the investigation of the recent past. Rather, this framework is a forward- looking statement of research principles, aims and directions. The framework is intended to enhance existing traditions of research by situating them in wider context and to promote the development of dynamic new research leading to a better understanding of the modern past and of its resonance in the present. The Panel’s basic definition of the modern era is the period from the 16th century to the present, but the boundaries of the period should be seen as flexible and porous, to be defined in a contingent manner as appropriate to the material and the questions and issues under discussion. Where iii Modern Scotland: Archaeology, the Modern past and the Modern present appropriate, the Panel has extended its remit back into the medieval period, and connections with the work of the Medieval Panel are to be encouraged. The end point of the modern past is also fluid and contingent – the remit of the Panel extends well into the period within living memory and any hard-and-fast division between past and present is to be resisted. The Panel does not see archaeology as a closed discipline characterised by the application of distinctive methods and techniques (e.g. archaeological excavation). Rather, archaeology is defined here as: 1) the study of the past using several forms of evidence, including its material remains; and 2) the study of relationships between people and their material worlds. The modern past is studied in these ways by scholars working within other disciplines and traditions and this fact has been recognised in the composition of the Panel, the members of which represent the disciplines of archaeology, architectural history, history and historical ecology. Many panel members have interests transcending disciplinary boundaries. Our overall direction of travel has been to produce a framework which allows individual researchers to develop and articulate their work in relation to three key co-ordinates: 1. the humanity of the modern world; 2. the materiality of the modern world; and 3. the relevance of the modern past. Research in this field provides critical insight into what it meant and what it means to be human in the modern world (humanity). The end towards which researchers collectively work is an understanding of self and society in the modern era. More particularly, given that this is an archaeological research framework, it is the ways in which modern ways of being and living have emerged through engagement with the material world that are of interest (materiality). And, as explorations of the genealogy of the present, research in this field is defined by the perspective it offers on the present (relevance). In understanding the modern past, we understand the modern present which arose from it, and we can reflect in a deeper and more informed way on the future. To provide a link between this broad agenda for research and the individual activities and projects through which research is pursued, the Panel has defined eight themes, each representing a different perspective on the modern world. The first two themes – Reformations and Global Localities – provide opportunities to reflect upon the major narratives of modern history and the ways in which archaeology can contribute to or challenge those narratives. Discussion under these themes is focussed on archaeological contributions to understanding of developments such as the Reformation, industrialisation, the Enlightenment, Improvement, global capitalism, colonialism and Empire. Reformations and Global Localities are themes intended to encourage reflection on the ways in which modern Scottish history is written and the ways in which archaeological research can contribute to that process. The next two themes – the Modern Person and Nation & State – place particular emphasis on questions of humanity in the modern world. They are intended to encourage reflection on the nature of self and society in modern Scotland and the ways in which archaeological research can inform our understanding of these issues. The three themes which follow next – People & Things, People & Places and People & Landscapes – place the emphasis on questions of materiality (the interdependence of people and the material world). Under these headings, the framework seeks to indicate in some more detail how the iv Modern Scotland: Archaeology, the Modern past and the Modern present questions raised under Reformations, Global Localities, Modern Person and Nation & State might be addressed by researching artefacts, historic buildings, archaeological sites and landscapes. The final theme – Modern Past, Modern Present – looks in on modern-world archaeology from the perspective of relevance. How does the recent past resonate in and influence the present and what kinds of research will help us to understand those processes? What are the politics and ethics of the modern past? How is modern-world archaeology presented and represented in public contexts? To what extent is research in this field pursued in collaboration with the public and how can research develop new modes of public collaboration in relation to modern past? Future Research The main recommendations of the panel report can be summarised under five key headings: HUMANITY The Panel recommends recognition that research in this field should be geared towards the development of critical understandings of self and society in the modern world. Archaeological research into the modern past should be ambitious in seeking to contribute to understanding of the major social, economic and environmental developments through