Sustainable conservation is post-humanist conservation

[Dennis Piechota]

Post-humanism re-examines what it means to be human; it looks outward at the intricate web of environmental connections that we use to define ourselves. The environment is elevated as critical to our identity. Sustainability brings this philosophy to our work on cultural objects. In that work we question the primacy of material culture, of the object before us, and we elevate the importance of the object's environmental connections.

"What if you preserve your heritage yet destroy your world?"

That is what a post-humanist conservator might ask. It is also the prime question of sustainable conservation. Right now when we think of implementing sustainable practices, from climate control to bench treatments, we cannot help but focus on the technical choices we can make to lessen their environmental costs. If we also re-cast sustainable conservation as an expression of post-humanism we will give coherency to those choices. And this philosophical base will show our awareness that conservation actions have environmental costs. Finally it will place a stake in the ground from which we can argue for our priorities in a changing world.

Dennis Piechota

Archaeological Conservator

Fiske Center for Archaeological Research
UMass Boston
Office: 617-287-6829

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