Excavating Utopia: Why Archaeologists Should Study "Ideal" Communities of the Nineteenth Century

The study of utopias is riddled with contradictions: we admire and fear them; they are a radical critique of the modernist societies that surround them, and yet they are in some ways the archetypal product of modernity. This paper suggests that studying Utopia could be of value in analyzing some of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of historical archaeology 2002-12, Vol.6 (4), p.299-323
Main Author: Tarlow, Sarah
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Archaeology
Capitalism
Communitarianism
Communities
Excavations
Historical archaeology
History
Ideology
Material culture
Modernity
Political theory
Socialism
Society
U.S.A
Utopian fiction
Utopian socialism
Utopias
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Summary:The study of utopias is riddled with contradictions: we admire and fear them; they are a radical critique of the modernist societies that surround them, and yet they are in some ways the archetypal product of modernity. This paper suggests that studying Utopia could be of value in analyzing some of the complexities and contradictions of Western society and ideology in the nineteenth century, as well as causing us to question some of the preconceptions we regularly bring to the study of the archaeological past. Finally I will suggest that a different kind of nineteenth century, one which includes the radical dissent and resistance of utopian thinkers and experimenters, provides a strong basis for a critique of the social values of modern capitalism.
ISSN:1092-7697
1573-7748
DOI:10.1023/A:1021362415206