Co-Creation, the Public, and the Archaeological Record

[BAJR]

My colleague Elizabeth Bollwerk and I have organized a session of papers (Friday morning, April 25 at 8:00 AM) around the theme of Co-Creation, the Public, and the Archaeological Record for the Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting this month in Austin Texas. We previously organized a session on museums and co-creation at the Society for Applied Anthropology meetings a couple of years ago, published last year as a thematic volume Open(ing) Authority Through Community Engagement in the journal Museums and Social Issues.

The 2014 SAA meeting session brings together a set of papers by practitioners that take-up co-creation and open authority within the discipline of archaeology. We are particularly pleased that Carol McDavid, a long-time leader in public archaeology and community engagement will serve as a discussant for the session. The session abstracts are listed below. If you are going to be in Austin, we hope to see you at our session!

Open(ing) Archaeology: A Model for Digital Engagement - Elizabeth Bollwerk (Central Washington University, Museum of Culture and Environment) -
[B]The “Public” in Public Archaeology: Down from the Ivory Tower and into the Real Trenches - Michael B. Barber (Virginia Department of Historic Resources), Michael J. Madden (USDA-Forest Service), and Carole L. Nash (James Madison University)[/B]
Making the Past Relevant: Co-creative solutions to the challenges of heritage preservation in rural Peru - Elizabeth Cruzado Carranza (PIARA) and Rebecca E. Bria (Vanderbilt University and PIARA)
The Duality of a 21[SUP]st[/SUP] Century Tribal Museum: Archaeological Research and Museum Stakeholders at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center - Kimberly Kasper (Rhodes College) and Russ Handsman (Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center)
Co-Creation of Knowledge about the Past by The Hopi Tribe - T. J. Ferguson (University of Arizona) and Stewart B. Koyiyumptewa (Hopi Tribe)
Co-creation as an Essential Means Toward Open Authority in Archaeology - Robert Connolly (University of Memphis, C.H Nash Museum at Chucalissa)
Salvaging a Community: Archaeology, Demolition, and Resurrection at the Euclid Avenue Church of God, Cleveland, Ohio - Mallory R. Haas (Center for Community Studies) and Elizabeth A. Hoag (Cuyahoga Community College)
Promoting a More Interactive Public Archaeology: Archaeological Visualization and Reflexivity through Virtual Artifact Curation - Bernard K. Means (Virtual Curation Laboratory at Virginia Commonwealth University)
Co-Creation and the Cemetery Resource Protection Training (CRPT) Program Across Florida - Sarah E. Miller (Florida Public Archaeology Network)
Engaging and Empowering Citizen Archaeologists through the Co-Creative Process: A Case Study Involving the Oklahoma Anthropological Society
Transforming Metal Detectorists into Citizen Scientists - Matthew Reeves (James Madison’s Montpelier)
Approaching sustainable public archaeology on Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile): education, conservation, research, and tourism - Britton Shepardson (Terevaka.net Archaeological Outreach) and Beno Atán (Explora)
Turning Privies into Class Projects - Kimberley Popetz (Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum)
The Road Goes Ever On and On: Public Archaeology at Teozacoalco - Kenneth Robinson and Stephen L. Whittington (Wake Forest University)


Lots to look at: more on them here: http://rcnnolly.wordpress.com/2014/04/07...al-record/

[Responsible Detectorist]

That sounds interesting, especially the transforming metal detectorists into citizen scientists.

[kevin wooldridge]

I guess I could ask my friend Mallory, but I don't want to appear more stupid than I am. Can anyone tell me what co-creation is all about?

[Responsible Detectorist]

Hehe I had to google it. http://www.forbes.com/sites/ashoka/2014/...all-of-us/ might help?
some of the titles of those papers look a bit above the usual papers I'm used to like 'the sun'

[kevin wooldridge]

Yeah I found that article, but maybe I am stupid I didn't understand a word...

[Wax]

Not sure I under stood it either it came across to me as " New World Order; Big Businesses get a social conscience" Or rather Big Business rules the world lets try and get them to be more socially aware through partnerships" Neither of which boads well as big businesses rule the world for a reason; They dont give a d....

[Marc Berger]

Reads like community archaeology to me.

[Responsible Detectorist]

Not sure if this helps, just another bit stolen from some website!

Co-creation is a collaborative initiative that operates like crowdsourcing by seeking information and ideas from a group of people. But there is one crucial difference: With co-creation, the call is not put to an open forum or platform but to a smaller group of individuals with specialized skills and talents. The result is less crowd noise and less chaos. With co-creation, companies can automate and track some processes while still getting creative ideas.

I'm guessing therefore that it's about how archie's might be able to get input / ideas from detectorists and vice versa?

[kevin wooldridge]

I have done some further research...I am not entirely convinced. It seems to be a system that appeals to the individual rather than corporate or group ethos.....stressing the individual rather than group experience. Quite how that translates to archaeology, where I have always thought we emphasise the 'team ethos' and more recently 'community' of archaeologists or community archaeology, I'm not sure.....maybe it is something in the USA mindset....

[barkingdigger]

I guess I could ask my friend Mallory, but I don't want to appear more stupid than I am. Can anyone tell me what co-creation is all about?

Didn't we used to have special lectures in school about avoiding co-creation? Or is it part of Alice Roberts' no-bible crusade?...

Seriously, this just sounds like old-fashioned "collaboration" to me. But with a particularly patronising twist, since the "experts" are letting the "unwashed" suggest the projects...

What's wrong with the simple old idea of "whoever has the idea starts the ball rolling"? Oh, I know - it doesn't generate impenetrable conference papers!