Title: Participatory Action Research and Archaeology | Fred McGhee - Academia.edu
Headings: Participatory Action Research and Archaeology
Participatory Action Research and Archaeology
Participatory Action Research and Archaeology

Content: This spotlight on the individual has led  to a literature littered with statements about why the individual matters . . . Although the goal of  post-processualist archaeology is to empower people in the present through critique and the  provision of space for multiple interpretations, post-processualists’ focus on individuals seems to  deny these abilities. He also observes (McGuire 2008: 61): . . . the post-processualists underestimate the complexity of the craft of archaeology and  overestimate the ability of individuals not trained in that craft to make sense of the representations  that archaeologists produce. Their theoretical focus on the individual does not lead to effective  action, and it unwittingly reinforces the dominant ideology of twenty-first century capitalism. Radical relativism and multivocality give little guidance on how to decide between competing  voices . . . in the absence of relational criteria to distinguish one voice from another, multivocality  may be harmful, because it leaves the stage open for oppressive voices. There is no magic bullet for the issues McGuire raises.