From 'Professionalisation' to 'Vassalization'. The Archaeologist between ‘Professional Ethics' and 'Corporate Social Responsibility'

  • Agnes Vandevelde-Rougale Laboratoire du Changement Social et Politique, Université Paris Diderot, Paris, France
  • Nicolas Zorzin Institute of Archaeology, National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Tainan, Taiwan
Keywords: Salvage archaeology, Rescue archaeology, Managerial newspeak, Professionalisation, Social Responsibility
Language(s): French

Abstract

Based on the observation of a loss of thickness in archaeological ethics – “ethical-washing” by which ethics is restricted to the production of records of archaeological data on the one hand, and to corporate social communication on the other – this article examines the evolution of the archaeological profession and its loss of subjective meaning. Based on a concrete case of contract work experience in rescue archaeology in the United Kingdom, and interviews with professionals in preventive archaeology in France, this article questions the influence on this dynamic of a managerial rhetoric linked to neocapitalism. It concludes by proposing for archaeology and archaeologists, some means to resist submission to the development imperatives of planners, discussed with the public at the “Archaeo-Ethics” conference.

Published
2019-11-27
How to Cite
[1]
Vandevelde-Rougale A, Zorzin N. From ’Professionalisation’ to ’Vassalization’. The Archaeologist between ‘Professional Ethics’ and ’Corporate Social Responsibility’. Can. J. Bioeth. 2019;2:109-1. https://doi.org/10.7202/1066468ar.