GRASCA –Linnaeus University and several archaeological companies want to shape the future of Swedish contract archaeology

In 2015 Linnaeus Universitywill launchGRASCA, a newGraduate School in Contract Archaeology, run in close cooperation with several Swedish companies in contract archaeology and supported by a major grant from the Knowledge Foundation. GRASCA is a joint venture of Linnaeus University, Museum Archaeology Southeast at Kalmar County Museum, the Contract Archaeology Unit at Bohusläns Museum, Natural and Cultural Heritage of Västra Götaland, in Uddevalla, and the Contract Archaeology Unit at Jamtli Foundation, Östersund. Yet more companies may join in 2015.

GRASCA will be strengthening the knowledge base and competencies of companies working in Swedish contract archaeology in order to increase their competitiveness on the market. The entire sector has in recent years undergone comprehensive changes in the way its aims in society are defined, and bids for contracts are increasingly being evaluated in relation to their societal impact. GRASCA will focus on advancing knowledge and competencies through research in those areas that have become critical for successful bidding, related to the academic fields of public archaeology, heritage studies and public history. The significance of the research conducted within GRASCA will be international.

We will extend and develop the existing competency in contract archaeology in two crucial ways. On the one hand, the research students will gain an international research perspective allowing them to compare and contrast the latest research developments and debates concerning archaeology’s value in society in different countries. On the other hand, the students will enhance their competency in practices of social engagement that benefit people and society at large in cost-effective ways while being based on recent academic research results. GRASCA will contribute to filling a number of specific knowledge gaps that have great relevance for the development of competitive contract archaeology, both in Sweden and beyond:

  1. Determining society’s need: how much and which knowledge about the past does society need? What is the value of that knowledge? Which needs other than knowledge can archaeology meet?
  2. Measuring quality: which indicators can be used to define and measure the quality of projects in contract archaeology, with societal impact in mind?
  3. Maximizing societal impact: to what extent can contract archaeology contribute to meeting significant societal challenges including conflict resolution and social cohesion, economic regeneration and sustainable development, continuing education and democratization of society?
  4. Communicating in society: how can the practices and outcomes of contract archaeology be successfully transmitted to society at large, using a variety of media and genres including emerging new technologies? How can the way contract archaeology communicates with particular communities and other audiences be improved? How can existing clichés and stereotypes that are prevalent in media representations of archaeology (e.g. Indiana Jones) be avoided?
  5. Supporting professional development: given the rapid changes in some of the content and the social context of contract archaeology, how can professional competence be held high and indeed further improved over the coming decades, in particular in the areas of public archaeology and museum archaeology?
  6. Re-negotiating the national past: given increasing diversity of collective identities in society, what is the role of national heritage and how can it be developed to facilitate actively cultural integration rather than (inadvertently) promote cultural division?
  7. Developing the market: how can the existing demand for archaeology in society be increased, new products/services be developed and new markets for business be found? What can we know about future opportunities and to what extent can companies actively influence them?
  8. Improving efficiency: how can contract archaeology define cutting-edge research questions and develop cost-effective ways of answering them for the benefit of society at large? Which new methods of social engagement could be used and to what effect?
  9. Clarifying the nature of competition: what does it mean to compete with knowledge about the past made available to society? How is that knowledge, or indeed how are other outcomes of archaeology, assessed?

GRASCA will consist of up to eleven Doctoral research projects that address many of these questions in relation to specific contexts relevant to the respective archaeological company. GRASCA will also offer academic courses in which all of these questions will be introduced and critically discussed. The research students are all professional archaeologists employed by the participating companies and in many cases with extensive practical experience in the sector.They will acquire key competencies in areas that are of particular significance for successful bidding in the future, and they will therefore be able to make especially valuable contributions to the quality and competitiveness of their respective companies and to assume leading positions in future contract archaeology.

The identified needs of the sector of contract archaeology match the competence of researchers at Linnaeus University in archaeology (especially public archaeology), in heritage studies, in the didactics of history, and in public history and the uses of the past in present society. The subject of Archaeology in the Department of Cultural Sciences at Linnaeus University has a strong focus on research about various aspects of the relations between archaeology and society. GRASCA will fulfill the University’s aspirations to integrate teaching and research in an environment that engages with wider society, to develop existing co-operation with non-academic partners and to make a significant contribution to professional development at the national level

GRASCA will be directed by Professor Cornelius Holtorf of Linnaeus University and Dr Per Lekberg of Museum Archaeology Southeast. The Chairman of the Board will be Professor Kristian Kristiansen of the University of Gothenburg. GRASCA will run 2015-2021 and initially include 7-11 research students. The total budget is about 45 million Swedish kroner (ca. € 4,8 million). Funding comes from the Knowledge Foundation, the companies involved and Linnaeus University.

Contact: Cornelius Holtorf, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden;

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