Listening, Hearing, Choosing?

Abstract

Drawing from efforts to engage archaeology as an integral part of peace-building in post-Troubles Northern Ireland, the risks and the rewards of collaborative cross-community practice are addressed. Focus is on the ethical challenges of negotiating the politics of the present while staying true to the evidence of the past. Positioning archaeology as a means of bridging the divisions in post-conflict settings toward the creation of a stable, shared society requires an ability to not only listen, but also to hear and respect the strength of personal and community narratives, even when those narratives may be founded on fundamental misrepresentations of the past.