Archaeological theory in France and Britain

Bibliographic Data

ID3215519
AuthorsC Scarre (0000-0002-7157-6539, University of Cambridge, corresponding author)
Year1999
Volume73
Issue279
Pages155-161
Publication date1999-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAntiquity (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0003-598X • E-ISSN: 1745-1744
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0003598x00087962
OpenAlexW2477401087
LanguageEN
Citations received11
References cited15

British archaeologists have long been puzzled by the contrast between the way in which the theoretical underpinnings of the discipline are discussed and explored on the French side of the Channel. Theory might he considered one of the most significant issues in British archaeology over the last 30 years, since the work of David Clarke in the late 1960s. There has sprung up a healthy tradition of debate, of polemic and counter-polemic, inspired by a desire to understand the epistemological and methodological underpinnings of our subject. In France, by contrast, theory has been a much less prominent part of the archaeological scene. This is all the more surprising given that France is the homeland of some of the key figures who have been espoused by British post-processualists: Foucault, Derrida, Lacan, and Althusser to name hut a few. Why should this he

Contrast (vision) · Epistemology · Homeland · Key (lock) · Political science · Politics · Subject (documents) · Cultural Identity and Heritage · Death, Funerary Practices, and Mourning · History · Law · Philosophy · Philosophy and Social Theory