Agency uncovered : archaeological perspectives on social agency, power, and being human / edited by Andrew Gardner.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Gardner, Andrew, 1973-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Archaeology--Philosophy--Congresses.

Archaeology.

Archaeology--Philosophy.

Agent (Philosophy)--Congresses.

Agent (Philosophy).

Genre:

Conference papers and proceedings.

Physical Description:

xii, 256 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; Portland, Or. : UCL Press, 2004.

Summary:

This book questions the value of the concept of "agency," a term used in sociological and philosophical literature to refer to individual free will in archaeology. A balance between the major two schools of thought regarding "agency'' is discussed, using a range of archaeological and historical case studies, including European and Asian prehistory, classical Greece and Rome, the Inka and other Andean cultures. While focusing on the relevance of "agency" theory to archaeological interpretation and using it to create more diverse and open-ended accounts of ancient cultures, the authors also address the contemporary political and ethical implications of what is essentially a debate about the definition of human nature. 256p (UCL Press 2004)

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1844720381

OCLC:

56718854