Capitalism is conflict: reconsidering subtle and covert violence within marginalized communities
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 26/10/2018

Conflict archaeology is well positioned to challenge and expand upon processes we have come to accept as standard by our 21st century governments and corporations. This paper considers capitalism and, as an extension, globalization as the root of the conflict and violence and calls for a more nuanced understanding of practices that isolate and erase distinct ethnic, social, and economic groups from the physical and ideological landscape. These processes of “clearing” are not new, but are ones which, I argue, are essential for western, capitalist nations must employ to survive. They are violent and are evidenced not only by direct, physical action, but also subtle and covert policies we recognize as “normal.” To parse out the subtle and covert, I compare two marginalized regions as a point of discussion: 18th century Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland and southern Appalachia, in particular Eastern Kentucky, United States and draw from theories of discipline and cultural, structural, and symbolic violence. Conflict resides in a myriad of spaces, including virtual ones, so to be archaeologists in the 21st century means seeking material culture and its production in much broader terms.

Author: Dr Anderson, Christine - Berea College (Presenting author)