Urban versus suburban as reconfigurations of colonialism in the community of Boa Esperança - Teresina (PI/Brazil)

proposal for a socially engaged arqueology

Abstract

This work proposes a search for a more socially engaged archeology, aiming to discuss and suggest possibilities for building a discipline that is aligned and connected with the realities of people in the present. It begins by addressing archeology’s contribution to the study of colonialism, imperialism, as well as the reproduction of a hegemonic heritage within neoliberalism, aspiring to overcome the configurations of this system –imposed upon present-day lives and spaces- through epistemological insubordination. Focusing on the problems and challenges currently affecting cities, and considering the urbanization processes that have reshaped urban space, our research introduces the community of Boa Esperança Avenue, Teresina (Piauí - Brazil), as an example of resistance to neoliberalism. This community, threatened by the advance of –neoliberal urbanism, seeks in its affective connection to its own history and heritage the grounds for an insurgent stance. Drawing on the community's agendas and forms of organization, we propose a more socially engaged archaeology –one in which we adopt a position of listening and learning, and through being affected by the experiences shared with the community, attempt to move away from the traditional one-way dynamics of traditional archeology.