Prospectus

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Archaeology of the Americas

Course
2021-2022

Admission requirements

  • World Archaeology 3.2 obtained;

  • This is a seminar with a limited amount of participants (20 students), for Archaeology students exclusively;

  • This is not an optional course for the Archaeology BA3 programme. If you want to take this course as an extra-curricular course in your programme, you should ask permission from the Board of Examiners. You can only be admitted with permission, with proper argumentation, and only if there are spots left.

Description

This course will focus on archaeological research in the Americas, paying special attention to recent studies, advances, and debates.
The sessions will take the form of lectures and discussions, with an emphasis on the archaeology of the circum-Caribbean region and surrounding mainland areas.

You will be encouraged to develop critical reflections in a series of scholarly discussions which will form the basis of a final essay paper.

Course objectives

At the end of this course, students are expected to achieve the following objectives:

  • To assess different types of archaeological evidence concerning the archaeology of the Americas/circum-Caribbean;

  • To critically reflect upon the relevant literature and associated themes;

  • To understand the major current debates concerning the archaeology of the Americas/circum-Caribbean;

  • To concisely and critically summarise current research findings concerning the archaeology of the Americas/circum-Caribbean.

Timetable

Course schedule details can be found in MyTimetable.
Log in with your ULCN account, and add this course using the 'Add timetable' button.

Mode of instruction

  • 7 Lectures (7 x 2 hours with 1 lecture, 5 min break, 40 min discussion);

  • Literature;

  • Weekly assignments (discussion points).

Course load

  • 14 hours of lectures;

  • 250 pages of literature.

Assessment method

  • Discussion points (20%);

  • Participation in class discussion (10%);

  • Final essay (70%).

The retake will consist of (re)writing the essay.

Assessment deadlines

All assessment deadlines (exams, retakes, paper deadlines etc.) can be found in MyTimetable.
Log in with your ULCN account, and add this course using the 'Add timetable' button. To view the assessment deadline(s), make sure to select the course with a code ending in T and/or R.

There will be a weekly assessment of the discussion points + participation in the class discussions. The final essay will be handed in 2 weeks after the end of the course.

Reading list

Background reading (non-compulsory):

  • Bérard, B. 2019. "About Boxes and Labels: A Periodization of the Amerindian Occupation of the West Indies, in: Journal of Caribbean Archaeology 19:51-67;

  • Hofman, C.L. and F.W.M. Keehnen (eds.). 2019. Material Encounters and Indigenous Transformations in the Early Colonial Americas: Archaeological Case Studies. Brill, Leiden;

  • Keegan, W.F. and C.L. Hofman. 2017. The Caribbean Before Columbus. New York: Oxford University Press.

250 pages of compulsory literature will be announced at a later stage as we aim to include the most recent publications as possible. Readings will be associated to lecture themes.

Registration

Registration in uSis is mandatory. You can register for this course until 5 days before the first class.

Registration in uSis automatically leads to enrollment in the corresponding Brightspace module. Therefore you do not need to enroll in Brightspace, but make sure to register for this course in uSis.

You are required to register for all lectures and tutorials well in time. The Administration Office registers all students for their exams, you are not required to do this in uSis.

Start registration for the BA2 seminars:

  • Series 1: 27 September 2021, 07:00 hrs

  • Series 2: 17 January 2022, 07:00 hrs

  • Series 3: 28 February 2022, 07:00 hrs

Contact

For more information about this course, please contact prof. dr. C.L. (Corinne) Hofman.

Remarks

  • Compulsory attendance;

  • This course will be taught in hybrid form (some lectures online via Zoom, some lectures on campus).