“Prehistory.” Interpretations, appropriations, and contemporary uses

The project consists of combining different types of discourse regarding the word “prehistory,” in order to chart divergences and recurrences, evolution and permanence, in its interpretations and uses. The prehistoric science, strictly speaking, will be approached via biological and cultural anthropology, ethnology, archeology, and paleo-environmental sciences, but also via history of art, literary studies, philosophy, psychoanalysis, or theology. From there, the project’s second step will be dedicated to an exploration of the different contemporary appropriations of the idea of prehistory, whether they are individual collective endeavors by artists and writers, or collective echoes in public through the practices of dissemination and cultural mediation. The general objective is to define and implement new pedagogical orientations in connection with the growing presence of prehistory in France culture and heritage today.

Project managers

Rémi LABRUSSE , Directeur du laboratoire Histoire des Arts et des Représentations (HAR - EA 4414) , Université Paris Nanterre

Sophie A. de BEAUNE , Archéologies et Sciences de l'Antiquité (ArScAn)

Internal cluster partners

• Archéologies et Sciences de l'Antiquité (ArScAn) - UMR 7041
• Histoire des Arts et des Représentations (HAR) - EA 4414
• Technology and Ethnology of Prehistoric Worlds - UMR TEMPS 8068
• Musée d'Archéologie nationale - Domaine de St-Germain-en-Laye

Associated partners

Centre Georges Pompidou
https://www.centrepompidou.fr/

Frobenius Institut an der Goethe-Universität
http://www.frobenius-institut.de/en/

Duration

Keywords

Prehistory, archeology, appropriation, création, Médiation