This year, the fortieth anniversary of the Parisian May 1968 uprising and of the other global revolts, saw a number of events that debated the relevance of social and political movements today. In archaeology, this debate passed unnoticed, a reflection perhaps of what some would characterise as the almost complete de-politicisation of archaeological thinking and practice. This plenary debate provides an opportunity to engage with the issue head on: 

• What was the impact of the 1960s’ and 1970s’ political and social revolt on archaeological thinking and practice? 
• How can archaeologists contribute to the study of and reflection on social uprising and rebellion in the remote and more recent past? 
• More importantly, does current archaeological theory and practice engage with contemporary social, political, and environmental movements?
• What is the role of archaeology in the major social and political issues of the day? 

These are some of the questions that this plenary panel with debate. The panellists are Neal Ascherson, Randall McGuire, Alain Schnapp and Colin Renfrew, and the debate will be introduced and chaired by Yannis Hamilakis. 

Neal Ascherson is a well-known independent scholar and journalist, a visiting lecturer at University College London, and the editor of the journal “Public Archaeology”. He writes regularly for The Observer, the London Review of Books, and the New York Review of Books. His latest book is “Stone Voices: the Search for Scotland” (Hill and Wang).

Yannis Hamilakis is Reader in Archaeology at the University of Southampton. His more recent books are, “Archaeology and Capitalism: From Ethics to Politics” (Left Coast Press, co-edited with Phil Duke), and “The Nation and its Ruins: Antiquity, Archaeology and National Imagination in Greece” (Oxford University Press).

Randall McGuire, well known for his work on archaeology and politics, and archaeology and class relations in the USA, is Professor of Anthropology at State University of New York-Binghamton. His most recent book is “Archaeology as Political Action” (University of California Press).

Alain Schnapp. Professor at the Sorbonne, is a renown classical archaeologist and historian of archaeology, but also a co-author (with P. Vidal Naquet) of one of the main reports on the May 1968 student uprising: “The French Student Uprising, November 1967 - June 1968: An Analytical Record” (Beacon Press).

Colin Renfrew, who needs no further introduction, especially to a TAG audience, as he was one of its founders, is Professor of Archaeology Emeritus at the University of Cambridge and a life peer since 1991.