Admission requirements
BA degree (or equivalent) in Archaeology or a relevant discipline. Knowledge of archaeological theory on BA3-level is required.
Description
Do we need archaeological theory or is ‘common sense’ enough? This fundamental question once posed by Matthew Johnson in his textbook Archaeological Theory seems to be answered now positively: we do need it. One reason is that we do no longer accept an empiricist point of view, the facts do not speak for themselves. No archaeologist can think about the past independent of his/her own cultural background, political perspectives, national context, so it is better to accept that they influence thoughts and to identify these. Thus archaeological theory is not just about the past, it may even be more about the present.
Moreover, if archaeology claims to be a scholarly activity embedded in society it will have to confront its results with contemporary fundamental discussions about the nature of society. These days we find ourselves in a situation where there is no longer a single paradigm guiding all of the archaeological interpretative work. The postmodern ‘anything goes’ seems to be the prevalent stance in the theoretical debate.
So we are left with fundamental questions: what theory to use? How does theory relate to my pottery, postholes and architectural remains? Should I be a value-free scholar, can I be a value-free scholar? And how feasible is it, intellectually, that archaeology is changing from being part of the Enlightenment project towards being part of the industry of identity politics?
This course will give an overview, by no means exhaustive, of what archaeology theory is about. You will read and reflect upon a recent handbook that provides something of a ‘state of the art’. Note however that the handbook chapters will only form a point of departure for the individual lectures that may wander in very different directions.
Course objectives
Development of in-depth knowledge of the most important issues and debates in current archaeological theory;
Ability to situate these in broader, more global developments, or contextualise these in social-historical discussions;
Critical view on these issues and debates in current archaeological theory;
Critical evaluation of the relevance of these issues and debates for one's own research;
Ability to assess and evaluate different theories and use these to formulate original/innovative new directions of research.
Timetable
Course schedule details can be found in the RMA and RMSc time schedule.
Mode of instruction
Lectures.
Course load
The course load will be distributed as follows:
7×2 hours of lectures (1 ec);
560 pages of literature (4 ec).
Assessment method
Essay-type exam (100%).
The exam for RMA-students will be different from the MA-exam; the literature will be different and the exam questions more demanding.
All assessment deadlines (exams, retakes, paper deadlines etc.) can be found in the RMA and RMSc examination schedule.
Reading list
To be announced on BlackBoard.
Registration
Registration for the course or the exam is not required.
Contact
For more information about this course, please contact dr. A.T. Antczak.
Remarks
Compulsory attendance.
This course is taught in blocks 1 and 3. If you are starting your programme in September, you take this course in block 1. If you are starting your programme in February, you take this course in block 3.