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ARCL0133: Themes, Thought and Theory in World Archaeology: Foundations

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ARCL0133: Themes, Thought and Theory in World Archaeology: Foundations UCL INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY ARCL0133: Themes, Thought and Theory in World Archaeology: Foundations 2018-19: Term I MA Core Module (15 credits) Turnitin Class ID: 3885535 Turnitin Password: IoA1819 Deadlines for coursework: essay 1: 30/11/18; essay 2: 28/01/19. Target dates for return of marked coursework: 7/01/19, 25/02/19. Co-ordinator: Prof. Todd Whitelaw [email protected] Office 207, Tel 020 7679 7534 Office hours: stop-in if door is open, or e-mail to arrange an appointment. Please see the last page of this document for important information about coursework submission and marking procedures, or links to the relevant webpages. 1. OVERVIEW Short Description This module provides an intensive graduate-level introduction to archaeological theory and archaeological interpretation, as well as a global perspective on the discipline. Set readings will be used to review the modern history of archaeological ideas, and to explore and evaluate the major interpretative frameworks developed by different schools of archaeological thought and the range of approaches pursued in studying the archaeological record, material culture, social behaviour and long-term cultural change. This handbook contains basic information about the content and administration of this module. If you have questions about the organisation, objectives, structure, content or assessment of the module, please consult the Module Co-ordinator. Further important information, relating to all modules at the Institute of Archaeology, is to be found on the IoA website, in the general MA/MSc handbook, and in your degree handbook. It is your responsibility to read and act on this information. This includes information about originality, submission and grading of coursework, disabilities, communication, attendance and feedback, not duplicated here (see Appendix). Week-by-week summary of seminar topics 1. 02/03 October: Archaeology, theory and practice. 2. 09/10 October: Culture history: objectives and assumptions. 3. 16/17 October: The New Archaeology: a new optimism. 4. 23/24 October: Processual Archaeology: pragmatism and retrenchment. 5. 30/31 October: Post-processual Archaeology: critique and re-directed optimism. Reading Week (no teaching) 6. 13/14 November: Marxism: change, power and ideology. 7. 20/21 November: Structuralism, Post-structuralism and meaning. 8. 27/28 November: Social evolution, complexity and change. 9. 04/05 December: The diversification of Interpretative Archaeologies. 10. 11/12 December: Archaeological theory today: diversity, pluralism or chaos? Basic Texts Trigger, B. 2006. A History of Archaeological Thought. (2nd edition). Cambridge: Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. A solid and insightful history of archaeology, more abbreviated for the late 20th century. Available through UCL Explore as an e-book. Johnson, M. 2010. Archaeological Theory: An Introduction. (2nd edition). Oxford: Blackwell. A good introduction, with attempt at balanced coverage. Bentley, R.A., Maschner, H.D.G. and Chippindale, C. (eds.) 2008. Handbook of Archaeological Theories. Lanham: AltaMira Press. Individual chapters by specialists, variable in quality and coverage; we will dip into it for specific topics. Available through UCL Explore as an e-book. Hodder, I. and S. Hutson 2003. Reading the Past. (3rd edition). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. A lively and polemical review of many major recent perspectives, engaging but biased. Available through UCL Explore as an e-book. Urban, P. and E. Schortman 2012. Archaeological Theory in Practice. Walnut Creek: Left Coast Press. A general introduction to approaches to archaeological interpretation, with developed examples. Gardner, A., M. Lake and U. Sommer (eds.) 2014. The Oxford Handbook of Archaeological Theory. Oxford: OUP. Available through UCL Explore as an e-book. Individual chapters by specialists; we will dip into it for specific topics. Gibbon, G. 2014. Critically Reading the Theory and Methods of Archaeology. New York: Altamira Press. An alternative critical approach. Harris, O. and C. Cipolla 2017. Archaeological Theory in the New Millennium. London: Routledge. Methods of Assessment This module is assessed by 4,000 words of coursework, divided into two essays, one of 1,500 words (contributing 33% to the overall module mark) and the other of 2,500 words (contributing 67% to the overall mark). In order to be deemed to have completed and passed in any module, it is necessary to submit all assessments. Teaching Methods The module is taught through seminars which have weekly required readings, which students will be expected to have read, to be able fully to follow and actively to contribute to discussion. The module is taught through discussion rather than lecture, so reading in advance of the seminar is absolutely essential. Workload There will be 20 hours of seminars for this module. Students will be expected to undertake around 80 hours of reading for the weekly sessions, plus 50 hours preparing for and producing the assessed work. This adds up to a total workload of some 150 hours for the module. Prerequisites This module does not have a prerequisite; however, if students have no previous background in archaeological theory, it may be advisable for them also to attend (but not be assessed for) the undergraduate and Diploma lecture module ARCL0030, Current Issues in Archaeological Theory (Monday, 4-6pm, Room 225, School of Pharmacy) to ensure that they have the background to get the most out of the Masters-level seminars in this module. 2. AIMS, OBJECTIVES AND ASSESSMENT Aims The module provides an intensive graduate-level introduction to archaeological theory, research approaches and reasoning, within a seminar framework based on set readings. It aims to review the recent history of archaeological ideas and to discuss and debate approaches and key general themes in current archaeology from historical, theoretical and comparative perspectives. Objectives On successful completion of this module a student should: have an understanding of current theoretical debates across a broad range of archaeology; understand the nature of the debates as a basis for developing their own theoretical position; and be able to use the knowledge to develop an innovative PhD proposal or carry out soundly-based research in their particular field of archaeology. 2 Learning Outcomes By the end of the module students should be able to demonstrate: critical analysis of ideas; construction of a theory-based argument; application of acquired knowledge; and verbal discussion skills. Coursework Deadlines Essay 1 (1,500 words): Friday 30 November 2018. Essay 2 (2,500 words): Monday 28 January 2019. Assessment questions For Essay 1 (1,500 words; 1,575 absolute maximum), answer one of the following questions; be sure to address both parts of the question. 1. What do you consider to be the most important (ca. 2-3) foci of Cultural Historical archaeology, and in what ways are they still relevant to archaeology today? (Focus on theoretical underpinnings, not field techniques, which are generic to all archaeology.) 2. What do you consider to be the most important (ca. 2-3) new points developed in Processual archaeology, and in what ways are they still relevant to archaeology today? 3. What do you consider to be the most important (ca. 2-3) new points developed in Post-processual archaeology, and in what ways are they still relevant to archaeology today? For Essay 2 (2,500 words; 2,625 absolute maximum), answer one of the following questions (please remember, if a question has multiple components, to address all of them): 1. What constitutes an explanation in archaeology? 2. To what extent does the political context of the emergence of archaeology in 19th century Europe still shape the character of the discipline? [Do not answer, if you answered Q1 for essay 1 in any way relevant to this question.] 3. In what sense(s), if any, is archaeology, conceptually, a science – i.e. not simply in the use of scientific techniques? 4. Did Cognitive-Processual archaeology, as defined by Colin Renfrew, address the principal Post- processual criticisms of Processual archaeology? 5. What are the strengths and weaknesses of Marxist approaches to the past, considered in terms of the major interpretive goals of both Processual and Post-processual archaeologies? 6. What were the insights gained from considering ‘material culture as text’, and to what degree have these helped archaeologists to interpret the meanings, for people in the past, of the material record? 7. What are the principal limitations of the neoevolutionary social evolution framework for archaeological explanations of the development of social complexity, and what alternatives are there to this conceptual framework? 8. How have archaeologists dealt with the relationship between structure and agency in past societies? Is it possible for Processualists and Post-processualists to find common ground in exploring this dynamic relationship? 9. Is it realistic to advocate plural perspectives to archaeological interpretation? Address in terms of one of the following three contested perspectives: alternative academic archaeological perspectives (e.g. Processualist, Marxist, Feminist, etc.), or the perspectives of different parties/stakeholders concerned 3 with the past (e.g. academics and the general public), or academic archaeologists and indigenous perspectives. If you are unclear about the nature of an assignment, you should contact the Module Co-ordinator. The Module Co-ordinator will be willing
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