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Antisocial media in archaeology?

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Walker, Dominic 

Abstract

jats:titleAbstract</jats:title>jats:pAn increasing number of individual archaeologists, archaeological organizations and institutions are using social media platforms for professional discussion and networking, research, public outreach and community archaeology. Proponents of social media have particularly pointed towards their potential for transforming the means of networking and communication in archaeology, and challenging traditional disciplinary expertise as archaeologists engage with more diverse and active online publics. This article provides a theoretically informed critical discussion, pointing towards the complex barriers to equal Internet access and usage, which challenge the ability of archaeologists to use social media as a tool to democratize the discipline. It concludes that, in many cases, social media appear to have reinforced archaeological authority at the expense of genuinely decentred engagement or collaboration. The article acts as a challenge to encourage further debate and empirically informed research in this emerging area of archaeological practice.</jats:p>

Description

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Cambridge University Press via http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1380203814000221.

Keywords

archaeology, inequality, Internet studies, public archaeology, social media

Journal Title

ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIALOGUES

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1380-2038
1478-2294

Volume Title

21

Publisher

Cambridge University Press (CUP)