Projects per year
Abstract
Investigating several modern ‘mega events’, including World’s Fairs and Olympic Games, this paper discusses the complex relationship such events and their sites have often had with ‘the future’. Such events are frequently associated with demonstrating progress towards future ‘utopias’ (for example ‘The World of Tomorrow’ theme of the 1939 World’s Fair in New York) or leaving a tangible positive social and economic ‘legacy’. However, other uses of mega event sites have also frequently manifested darker, more anxious ideas about that which is yet to come. In this paper I discuss three forms in which mega events’ sites relate to the idea of the future: before, during, and after they take place. In discussing these relationships, I demonstrate how traces of ‘past futures’, when investigated archaeologically, provide a diverse means by which to understand how societies have related to the idea of the future through the modern era.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 86-99 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | Archaeology International |
Volume | 22 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 17 Jan 2020 |
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Dive into the research topics of 'Recurring dreams: Mega events and traces of past futures'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
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The archaeology and heritage of London's mega events
Gardner, J. (Principal Investigator)
24/09/12 → 27/01/17
Project: Research
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London’s mega event heritage and the development of UCL East
Gardner, J., 24 May 2022, Co-curating the City: Universities and urban heritage past and future. Melhuish, C., Benesch, H., Sully, D. & Holmberg, I. M. (eds.). London: UCL Press, p. 154-176Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
Open AccessFile -
A Contemporary Archaeology of London’s Mega Events: From the Great Exhibition to London 2012
Gardner, J., 16 May 2022, London: UCL Press. 288 p.Research output: Book/Report › Book
Open AccessFile -
Competing for the past: the London 2012 Olympics, archaeology, and the ‘wasteland’
Gardner, J. & Apaydin, V. (Editor), Feb 2020, Critical Perspectives on Cultural Memory and Heritage: Construction, Transformation and Destruction. Apaydin, V. (ed.). UCL Press, p. 45-66Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
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Legacy or Heritage? Reconsidering the Olympic inheritance
Gardner, J. (Speaker)
12 Nov 2022Activity: Academic talk or presentation types › Oral presentation
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CONTEMPORARY ARCHAEOLOGY OF QUEEN ELIZABETH OLYMPIC PARK
Gardner, J. (Invited speaker)
24 Jun 2022Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Public Engagement – Public lecture/debate/seminar
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Groundbreakers launch event
Gardner, J. (Contributor)
1 Jun 2022Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Public Engagement – Public lecture/debate/seminar