Module Catalogue 2025/26

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

This module explores through texts and objects the physical and social landscapes created in the ‘New World’ (and at ‘home’ in Europe too), as European colonisers interacted with Indigenous peoples. We focus on the Caribbean, North America, Western and Southern Africa, and Britain and look mainly at the period from 1492 – c.1900. Topics to be covered include the archaeology of Spanish and British settlement in the Caribbean; the study of colonial elites and Indigenous peoples in British North America; slavery and of global consumerism; heritage and racism in Southern Africa, and colonial heritage presentation issues today.

The aims of this module are:

- To introduce students to the history and archaeology of European overseas exploration and settlement, in selected contexts from 1492 to the 20th century.
- To introduce students to the history and archaeology of Britain after 1492, and to encourage an understanding of the relationship between overseas exploration and developments in the ‘home’ country.
- To examine and engage in debates about the range of interpretative frameworks available for modelling contact and culture change in selected colonial contexts.
- To expand students’ understanding of the relationship between documentary sources and archaeological data that characterises historical archaeology as a discipline.

Outline Of Syllabus

Topics to include:

Introduction
The Caribbean
North America
Slavery
West and Southern Africa
Bringing it home to Britain

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

- Students will demonstrate an awareness of the globalizing processes (conquest, empire, colonialism, trade and slavery) shaping Europe and its colonies after 1492.
- Students will demonstrate a detailed awareness of a variety of historically documented colonial encounters.
- Students will be familiar with a variety of interpretative frameworks for modelling contact and culture change in colonial contexts, and will show an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of these models.
- Students will show an appreciation of the legacies of colonialism, and their impact upon archaeological scholarship, and heritage presentation.

Intended Skill Outcomes

In order to complete the module successfully, all students must demonstrate that they have developed the following intellectual skills:

Reading, understanding, critiquing historical and archaeological data;
Analysing and evaluating archaeologists’ use of evidence;
Research, critical reading and reasoning, sustained discussion and appropriate presentation of the results.

All students will also develop the following key skills:
Time management
Bibliographic and library skills
Oral discussion and debate
Writing and revising analytic prose
Making sense of disparate forms of data (archaeological and documentary)

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Lectures provide a broad overview of the history and archaeology of one of four selected case-studies areas. Seminars either examine one aspect of that week’s overview in greater depth, or cover aspects of study skills and coursework preparation. Many seminars involve some group work, and all are designed to tie into, and support, the set written work. Advance preparatory work is required for most seminars

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Data handling exercise (Formative and Assessment 1; Problem solving exercise) foster independent research and problem solving skills. The essay essays tests depth of understanding of a central theme raised in the module.

Submitted work tests intended knowledge and skills outcomes, develops key skills in research, reading and writing.

General Notes

On the basis of both student feedback and decline in module recriutment (because students avoid exams) we have replaced the 24 hour exam with an essay as the 2nd assessment for this module. The retention of the problem-solving exercise allows us to maintain a mixed assessment format for this module and tests different skills to the essay.