"There are so many good ideas": A study of the practice of public archaeology in Swedish commercial archaeology
(2025) ARKM21 20251Archaeology
- Abstract
- The term public archaeology is one that is not widely used in Sweden, often being sidelined in favour of the more popularised word “förmedling” or “mediation”. However, public archaeology can serve as an alternative to accommodate for new perspectives and models for communication with the public. With an increasing emphasis on inclusivity and diversity in the cultural field, attention towards how the discipline utilises their relationship with the public is necessary. Public archaeology can set precedence to encompass practical and theoretical aspects of communication with the public and problematise its current state. As stated by the current national cultural policy goals, an aim is for the public to take active part in the creation and... (More)
- The term public archaeology is one that is not widely used in Sweden, often being sidelined in favour of the more popularised word “förmedling” or “mediation”. However, public archaeology can serve as an alternative to accommodate for new perspectives and models for communication with the public. With an increasing emphasis on inclusivity and diversity in the cultural field, attention towards how the discipline utilises their relationship with the public is necessary. Public archaeology can set precedence to encompass practical and theoretical aspects of communication with the public and problematise its current state. As stated by the current national cultural policy goals, an aim is for the public to take active part in the creation and preservation of the cultural environment.
For this thesis, key themes are how public archaeology is practiced within commercial archaeology in Sweden, what changes can be observed over time and what areas of improvement can be identified. The study is based on the theoretical frameworks of Moshenska's seven types of public archaeology and Matsuda's four approaches to public archaeology. This theoretical foundation has proven to be applicable in many aspects of how public archaeology is practiced within commercial archaeology in Sweden, revealing both strengths and weaknesses in the current system.
The findings suggest that though there is ample interest among archaeologists, the overarching structure of commercial archaeology hinders future growth of public archaeology. There is a lack of multiway communication in public archaeology strategies, leaving opportunities of the public as co-creators underexplored. While the discipline has made impressive headway in the last decade, it is being held back from reaching its full potential. Suggestions for addressing these areas for improvement focus on evaluating communication strategies more effectively and expanding public archaeology interprofessionally, building on relationships with other cultural sciences and professions. The significance of these results lie in its contribution to function as foundation to future studies for public archaeology in Sweden. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9197863
- author
- Arin, Elin LU
- supervisor
-
- Åsa Berggren LU
- organization
- course
- ARKM21 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Archaeology, public archaeology, commercial archaeology, cultural heritage mediation, cultural politics, critical theory, arkeologi, Swedish archaeology, publik arkeologi, uppdragsarkeologi, kulturarvsförmedling, kulturpolitik, kritisk teori
- language
- English
- id
- 9197863
- date added to LUP
- 2025-09-09 14:29:00
- date last changed
- 2025-09-09 14:29:00
@misc{9197863,
abstract = {{The term public archaeology is one that is not widely used in Sweden, often being sidelined in favour of the more popularised word “förmedling” or “mediation”. However, public archaeology can serve as an alternative to accommodate for new perspectives and models for communication with the public. With an increasing emphasis on inclusivity and diversity in the cultural field, attention towards how the discipline utilises their relationship with the public is necessary. Public archaeology can set precedence to encompass practical and theoretical aspects of communication with the public and problematise its current state. As stated by the current national cultural policy goals, an aim is for the public to take active part in the creation and preservation of the cultural environment.
For this thesis, key themes are how public archaeology is practiced within commercial archaeology in Sweden, what changes can be observed over time and what areas of improvement can be identified. The study is based on the theoretical frameworks of Moshenska's seven types of public archaeology and Matsuda's four approaches to public archaeology. This theoretical foundation has proven to be applicable in many aspects of how public archaeology is practiced within commercial archaeology in Sweden, revealing both strengths and weaknesses in the current system.
The findings suggest that though there is ample interest among archaeologists, the overarching structure of commercial archaeology hinders future growth of public archaeology. There is a lack of multiway communication in public archaeology strategies, leaving opportunities of the public as co-creators underexplored. While the discipline has made impressive headway in the last decade, it is being held back from reaching its full potential. Suggestions for addressing these areas for improvement focus on evaluating communication strategies more effectively and expanding public archaeology interprofessionally, building on relationships with other cultural sciences and professions. The significance of these results lie in its contribution to function as foundation to future studies for public archaeology in Sweden.}},
author = {{Arin, Elin}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{"There are so many good ideas": A study of the practice of public archaeology in Swedish commercial archaeology}},
year = {{2025}},
}