The Triviality of the New: Innovation and impact in archaeology and beyond
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The Triviality of the New: Innovation and impact in archaeology and beyond. / Sørensen, Tim Flohr.
In: Current Swedish Archaeology, Vol. 26, 2018, p. 93-117.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - The Triviality of the New: Innovation and impact in archaeology and beyond
AU - Sørensen, Tim Flohr
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - What drives archaeology? Is it new empirical discoveries, new methods or new theory? These factors combined are the fuel of the discipline, is the obvious answer. However, debates and research articles frequently reveal how a perceived need for novelty, originality and impact tends to disentangle this triumvirate of archaeological virtues, giving precedence to one asset over others as the supposed driving force. Focusing on archaeological theory,this article taps into current discussions of the nature of archaeological change, reviewing debates on the formation of archaeological theory, its legitimisation and usefulness. Specifically, I address a recent claim that archaeological theory too readily undermines itself by adopting immature ideas and concepts from other disciplines in an uncritical pursuit of novelty. Finally, I discuss how archaeology may contribute more generally to the formation of theory in the humanities by returning so-called borrowed theory.
AB - What drives archaeology? Is it new empirical discoveries, new methods or new theory? These factors combined are the fuel of the discipline, is the obvious answer. However, debates and research articles frequently reveal how a perceived need for novelty, originality and impact tends to disentangle this triumvirate of archaeological virtues, giving precedence to one asset over others as the supposed driving force. Focusing on archaeological theory,this article taps into current discussions of the nature of archaeological change, reviewing debates on the formation of archaeological theory, its legitimisation and usefulness. Specifically, I address a recent claim that archaeological theory too readily undermines itself by adopting immature ideas and concepts from other disciplines in an uncritical pursuit of novelty. Finally, I discuss how archaeology may contribute more generally to the formation of theory in the humanities by returning so-called borrowed theory.
KW - Faculty of Humanities
KW - Archaeological theory
KW - novelty
KW - impact
KW - borrowing
KW - Object-Oriented Ontology
M3 - Journal article
VL - 26
SP - 93
EP - 117
JO - Current Swedish Archaeology
JF - Current Swedish Archaeology
SN - 1102-7355
ER -
ID: 212123739