The Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften: Events

Thursday, 23 January 2025, 11:00
Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften, Am Wingertsberg 4, 61348 Bad Homburg

Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften of Goethe University
FKH colloquium

Iwo Amelung (Goethe University)
»Canonizing a New Narrative: Archaeology between Science, Ideology, and Popularization in Contemporary China«

Abstract
In recent years, archaeology has moved to the forefront of official academic and cultural discourse in the People's Republic of China. This shift has been accompanied by an unprecedented effort to popularize archaeological findings. Many of these developments occurred during the pandemic, which may explain why they have largely escaped the scrutiny of critical observers.

This paper, which might serve as the foundation for a larger research project, first offers a brief examination of the historical development of archaeology as a scientific practice in China. In the second part, I propose an analytical framework to explore both the academic trajectories of archaeology and the mechanisms that generate validity and authority in the field. This process involves the canonization of a historical narrative shaped by the appropriation and interpretation of archaeological discoveries. Furthermore, I argue that the newly constructed narrative and the mechanics of canonization reinforce one another. The multilayered and carefully executed process of canonization not only produces and reproduces the »value« of the canonized narrative, but also cultivates an audience that both desires and is capable of appreciating this »value.«

Through this process, what began as an academic and cultural discourse has been transformed by the Chinese party-state into a highly efficient ideological tool, which is now integral to the Chinese Communist Party’s approach to politics. This necessitates that observers take seriously the mechanisms and institutions that play a critical role in the canonization process—institutions whose importance may not yet be fully recognized. With respect to the archaeological narrative these include international conference series such as the biannual Shanghai Archaeology Forum, nominations for UNESCO world heritage and most recently the establishment of a large »Chinese research Institute of classical civilization« (Zhongguo gudian wenming yanjiuyuan) in Athens.

The speaker
Iwo Amelung has been a Professor of Sinology at Goethe University Frankfurt am Main since 2005. He was a Goethe Fellow at the Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften from 2017 to 2021.

Participation
Closed event. Contact: Beate Sutterlüty; email: b.sutterluety@forschungskolleg-humanwissenschaften.de