Archaeology, Society and Identity in Modern Japan
Archaeology, Society and Identity in Modern Japan
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This bold and illuminating study examines the role of archaeology in the formation of the modern Japanese nation and explores the processes by which archaeological practice is shaped by national social and intellectual discourse. Leading Japanese archaeologist Koji Mizoguchi argues that an understanding of the past has been a central component in the creation of national identities and modern nation states and that, since its emergence as a distinct academic discipline in the modern era, archaeology has played an important role in shaping that understanding. By examining in parallel the uniquely intense process of modernisation experienced by Japan and the history of Japanese archaeology, Mizoguchi explores the close interrelationship between archaeology, society and modernity, helping to explain why we do archaeology in the way that we do. This book is essential reading for anybody with an interest in the history of archaeology or modern Japan.
- Was the first book to explain the history of Japanese archaeology to a western audience
- Draws on fascinating social theory
- Will appeal to archaeologists, sociologists, modern historians and those working in cultural studies
Reviews & endorsements
Review of the hardback: 'Archaeology, Society and Identity in Modern Japan is probably one of the most in-depth and thought-provoking manuscripts available in English on the connections between archaeology and the modernization of Japan.' Journal of Asian Studies
Product details
March 2011Paperback
9780521187794
202 pages
244 × 170 × 11 mm
0.33kg
Available
Table of Contents
- 1. Introduction: archaeology in the contemporary world
- 2. Modernity and archaeology
- 3. Theoretical explication
- communication, sociality and the positionality of archaeology
- 4. Modernity and archaeology: nation-state, circularity and paradox
- 5. Late/high/post-modernity and archaeology: fragmentation, multiculturalism and beyond
- 6. Conclusion.
