Paper short abstract:

Marinetti's Futurist Manifesto is probably the first thorough going statement of the doctrine of Modernism, and offers a straightforward challenge to archaeology and heritage. In a sense we have got the World that the futurists desired, and perhaps they can help us understand it.

Paper long abstract:

Marinetti's Futurist Manifesto (1909) is probably the first thorough going statement of the doctrine of Modernism, and offers a straightforward challenge to archaeology and heritage. The Futurists wanted to dispense with the past, to "Heap up the fire to the shelves of the libraries! Divert the canals to flood the cellars of the museums!". In embracing the excitement and romance of new technology, even its devastating capacity for war, Futurists announced a faith in change and renewal which was later to inspire high Modernists such as Lewis Mumford and Robert Musil.

Whilst Marinetti and his friends were later condemned by their adherence to Mussolini's Fascism, and their hatred of museums might seem unpromising, I want to argue in this paper that the Futurist Manifesto has a great deal to say to us. Particularly those who are concerned with the contemporary past. We live in a World where fear of technology has been largely replaced by casual acceptance, and where continual change fuelled by a globalised economy is the norm. In a sense we have got the World that the futurists desired, and perhaps they can help us understand it.