Module ARCH1141: Medieval to Modern: An Introduction to the Archaeology of the Medieval to Post Medieval World

Department: Archaeology

ARCH1141: Medieval to Modern: An Introduction to the Archaeology of the Medieval to Post Medieval World

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To introduce students to the archaeology of early medieval to post medieval western and northern Europe via a focus on key artefacts and sites.
• To enable students to set this knowledge within the wider context of the archaeology of the medieval to modern eras beyond Europe.
• To provide students with a basic understanding of key sources, approaches, theories and debates, the relevant geographical distributions and chronologies essential to the topic.

Content

• Using key artefacts and sites, this module via three chronologically sections, will introduce students to the key sources, approaches, theories and debates, relevant geographical distributions and chronologies essential to the topic of the archaeology of the medieval to modern world.
• TRIBES TO STATES: EARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPE IN CONTEXT
• Lectures will introduce a range of key archaeological concepts including societal collapse, migration, conversion and colonisation, social stratification and exchange. These lectures will take important artefacts, discoveries or sites as their starting points e.g. Schleswig Holstein, the grave of Childeric, Lejre , Lagore Crannog, the Treasure of Guarrazar, the Hon Hoard, the Helgö Buddha, Aachen, Novgarod, Baghdad, Samara, the Silk Road etc. In addition students will participate in a 3-hour fieldtrip and a 1-hour seminar based upon an article critique.
• THE MEDIEVAL WORLD: EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVES
• Lectures will introduce key archaeological concepts for the medieval age including frontiers and defences, religion and devotion, urbanism, colonisation, land management and rural settlement and subsistence. Lectures will take important artefacts, discoveries or sites as their starting points e.g. Aachen , Pershore Censer, Becket Pilgrim Badge, Walsingham, Chartres, Carcassone, El Alcázar, LÏ‹beck, York & Newcastle, Moncayo. etc. Students will also participate in a 3-hour fieldtrip and a 1-hour seminar based upon an article critique.
• REFORMATION TO REVOLUTION: LATE MEDIEVAL TO MODERN CHANGES
• Lectures will introduce key archaeological concepts for the post medieval to modern eras including religious change, iconoclasm, domestic archaeology (the archaeology of the everyday), commercialisation, industrialisation, colonialism, global expansion, nationalism, conflict and warfare. Lectures will take important artefacts, discoveries or sites as their starting point e.g. Durham Cathedral, Norwich, Iron Bridge, Goa/ colonial India, Heidelburg thingstätte, Students will also participate in a 1-hour seminar based upon an article critique.

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of the module students will have acquired:
• A critical understanding of the relevant sources of evidence for the study of medieval to modern archaeology.
• A sound knowledge of a range of key artefacts and sites relevant to the topic.
• Knowledge and understanding of the wider context of these objects and sites, in terms of the broad archaeology and chronology of Europe from the medieval to modern eras.
• An understanding of the relationship between the archaeology of medieval to post medieval Europe and the wider medieval to modern world.
• All the lecturers involved in the teaching are actively researching on the subject and they will introduce students to major debates on the subject

• By the end of the module students will be able to:
• Locate, use and critically appraise a variety of primary and secondary sources relevant to their learning for this module.
• Identify, discuss and situate a range of key artefacts and sites relevant to the topic.
• Discuss the broad European context for the archaeological evidence of these eras with an understanding of temporal changes and geographic variations.
• Relate this knowledge to a wider framework of evidence for the medieval to modern eras beyond Western and Northern Europe

• By the end of the module students will be able to:
• Identify and use a variety of types of information and data.
• Discern the difference between primary and secondary evidence.
• Critically evaluate relevant published literature and published excavation data.
• Participate effectively in group work, fieldwork and class discussion.
• Present short written critical summaries based upon individual and group research.

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

• This module will be delivered via a combination of lectures, seminars and field trips.
• Lectures will use important sites, artefacts and discoveries as a starting point from which to communicate key information relevant to the topic alongside an introduction to key approaches and theoretical ideas and concepts.
• Field trips will engage students by means of group work and field study with surviving archaeology of the medieval to modern world and develop their ability to record and analyse field data.
• Seminars will provide closer engagement with relevant published literature and deliver key skills in reading, discussing, analysing and critiquing published literature.
• A 1000-word formative assignment debating one aspect of the themes addressed in the module will test and develop students' knowledge, critical ability and skills in independent research and academic writing and will help students prepare for the examination.
• A 500-word summative ‘wiki’, composed by students on a chosen artefact or site of their choice will develop their subject-specific knowledge, develop their understanding of the variety of sources of evidence available and its academic quality, and develop their understanding of modes of citation and the acknowledgement of sources of evidence used.
• A 1000-word summative write-up of a selected field trip will enable students to develop skills in field observation, source analysis, independent research and academic writing and test both their specific knowledge and their understanding of the wider contextual knowledge relating to the site and its importance. This piece will also test their ability to evaluate past and current ideas and debates.
• A summative exam composed of unseen essay questions will test students’ knowledge, their grasp of critical information, their ability to evaluate current ideas and debates and their broad understanding of the archaeology of the medieval to modern world, its chronologies, data sets, major debates and key discoveries.
• Research is embedded into the teaching of this module through the expertise of the lecturers and tutors. The examples and topics chosen within the curriculum will derive from the specialist research interests of the staff teaching the module, and students are introduced to the results of the research of their teachers as well as the wider context of the subject. The artefact/site biographies and field trip expose students to the research methods of the subject.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One 1000-word assignment

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University