Module ARCH3481: CURRENT ISSUES IN ARCHAEOLOGY

Department: Archaeology

ARCH3481: CURRENT ISSUES IN ARCHAEOLOGY

Tied To

• F400: Archaeology
• F402: Archaeology
• LF64: Anthropology and Archaeology
• LMV0: Combined Honours in Social Sciences
• VF14: Ancient History and Archaeology

Pre-requisites

Corequisites

Excluded Combinations

Aims

• To enable students to unite practice and theory.
• act as a 'capstone' module, encouraging students to reflect on what they learned at Levels 1 and 2 in their options modules.

Content

• This module is based around reflection on a series of critical themes in archaeology.
• Students will revisit at a more advanced level a series of themes already familiar from Levels 1 and 2.
• These themes relate to the theoretical background and cultural, social and cultural context of archaeological practice.
• Such themes will include:
• the influence of cultural, social and political factors on the development of archaeological thought.
• the role of archaeology in contemporary society and culture.
• the interaction of theory and practice in archaeological research.

Learning Outcomes

• At the end of this module the student will:
• have developed an advanced knowledge of the intellectual background to archaeology during the modern era.
• have discussed and evaluated in depth a series of concepts in terms of their relevance to archaeology.
• applied what they have learned to a series of case studies.

• By the end of the module students will have developed the following subject skill:
• applying key skills (see below) to core concepts and debates pertaining to contemporary archaeological practice and theory

• By the end of this module students will have developed competence in the following key skills:
• critical analysis of primary and secondary data
• self-reflection on knowledge and skills acquired and developed
• accessing library resources
• undertaling independent study and research
• preparation and effective communication of interpretations and arguments in written form

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Students will produce a summatively assessed seminar write-up in which they engage in critical reflection upon the current intellectual state of archaeology.
• (The research for this write will be partly reading, and partly discussion in a series of classroom seminars).
• Student's critical and self-reflective knowledge of a range of ideas and debates in archaeology, and of their vision and understanding of their learning experience, will be assessed in a short end-of-year unseen examination.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment

None.