Semester 1 Credit Value: | 20 |
ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
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The module will explore the connections between Europe, Asia, and Africa from 400-1500 AD. The scope of the course is vast, both in terms of its geographical extent and the interdisciplinary themes covered, so module content will aim to provide a broad structural overview of hte period alongside detailed case studies. We will explore how historians and archaeologists use text, material culture, art, architecture, environmental, and biological data to understand the medieval world. A key goal of this module is to highlight the diversity of viewpoints and lived experiences from people that were interconnected in different parts of the globe. With that in mind, we will explore key themes around trade, mobility, food, religion, social complexity, architecture, environmental change, settlement histories, and colonisation.
Module Aims:
• To provide students with a critical understanding of the archaeology of Europe, Asia, and Africa in the medieval period
• To provide students with a knowledge and understanding of the key sources and methods used by
medieval archaeologists, including excavation, survey, material culture and artefacts, art and
architecture, and texts.
Exact topics will vary depending on the availability of specialist staff, but will include sessions such as the following:
A Global Middle Ages
Dark Ages?
Migration across Europe
Silk Roads
Mediterranean cuisine
Mediterranean and Red Sea networks
Personhood, Slavery and Race
African Urbanism
Religious landscapes
Indian Ocean networks
Islam in medieval world
Archaeological methods
Trans-Saharan trade
Multicultural Iberia
Maps/traveller accounts
Crusades
Medieval settlement
Medieval Nomadism
Climate and disease
Key Knowledge Outcomes:
• An understanding of key methodologies and sources of evidence utilised by medieval
archaeologists in Europe, Asia, and Africa
• A knowledge of how such methodologies and evidence have been integrated in past and current scholarship
• An understanding of key themes and debates in medieval archaeology
• An awareness of regionality in medieval archaeology
• An understanding of regional research trends in the study of global medieval archaeology
Intended skills outcomes:
• An ability to critically assess and analyse current approaches to medieval archaeology
• An ability to critically assess primary archaeological evidence
• Ability to relate primary archaeological data to wider themes and debates
• How to collate and synthesise data
• Construct critical arguments
• Time management
• Bibliographic and library skills
• Writing and revising analytical prose
• Oral communication and presentation skills
Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
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Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 62 | 1:00 | 62:00 | N/A |
Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 22 | 1:00 | 22:00 | N/A |
Guided Independent Study | Directed research and reading | 55 | 1:00 | 55:00 | N/A |
Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 11 | 1:00 | 11:00 | N/A |
Structured Guided Learning | Structured research and reading activities | 22 | 1:00 | 22:00 | Weekly reading associated with lectures and seminars |
Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Fieldwork | 1 | 7:00 | 7:00 | Field trip |
Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 21 | 1:00 | 21:00 | N/A |
Total | 200:00 |
1. Lectures and lecture materials will provide students with an overview of the main topics and debates in global medieval archaeology, the sources of evidence for same, and how to approach them.
2. Seminars will develop analytical skills, oral communication skills and the ability to work as part of a team, as well as an advanced knowledge and critical understanding of themes through student-led presentations and in-depth discussion of detailed case-studies.
3. Private study will provide in-depth understanding through background reading, preparation of seminar
presentations, identification/collation/analysis of information for assessments.
An additional 7 hours of contact time are included in this module to facilitate a field trip supporting the lecture and seminar material
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
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Essay | 2 | M | 35 | 1500 word essay |
Essay | 2 | A | 65 | 2000 word essay with opportunity for students to shape the question. |
Description | Semester | When Set | Comment |
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Oral Presentation | 2 | M | Group oral presentation (of approx. 15mins) on objects related to a seminar topic |
Essays will assess ability to analyse data critically and published interpretations relating to key themes in medieval archaeology using methods and techniques taught through lectures and seminars. Submitted work tests intended knowledge and skills outcomes, develops key skills in research, reading and writing. The group oral presentation will provide the opportunity for teamwork in relation to the analysis of objects and the knowledge of key medieval artefacts, examining their dates, contexts and provenance.
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Disclaimer: The information contained within the Module Catalogue relates to the 2023/24 academic year. In accordance with University Terms and Conditions, the University makes all reasonable efforts to deliver the modules as described. Modules may be amended on an annual basis to take account of changing staff expertise, developments in the discipline, the requirements of external bodies and partners, and student feedback. Module information for the 2024/25 entry will be published here in early-April 2024. Queries about information in the Module Catalogue should in the first instance be addressed to your School Office.