I Dig Therefore We Are: Community Archaeology, Place-based Social Identity, and Intergroup Relations Within Local Communities
Abstract
Community involvement in archaeological digs aims to reconnect people with the history and heritage of where they live. This paper applies social psychological theories to understand how community archaeological projects create opportunities for place‐based social identity and positive intergroup relations. Focus groups were conducted across five areas of Greater Manchester (UK) with 24 participants who volunteered for Dig Greater Manchester, a community archaeology initiative. The focus groups aimed to understand how experiences of participating in digs and exploring local heritage modified, strengthened or initiated identification with place and community, thus moving from individual levels to social levels of identity. The findings offer insight as to the ways in which people make sense of their own—and others'—place‐based social identities as a result of participating in community archaeological digs. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Citation
Coen, S., Meredith, J. and Condie, J. (2017) I Dig Therefore We Are: Community Archaeology, Place‐based Social Identity, and Intergroup Relations Within Local Communities, Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 27, pp. 212–225.Publisher
WileyJournal
Journal of Community & Applied Social PsychologyAdditional Links
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/casp.2299Type
Journal articleLanguage
enISSN
1052-9284Sponsors
The project was funded by the Richard Benjamin Trust—grant no. RBT1309ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1002/casp.2299
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/