CE4913: Archaeology and the Battle of the Sexes

School Continuing and Professional Education
Department Code LEARN
Module Code CE4913
External Subject Code 100299
Number of Credits 10
Level L4
Language of Delivery English
Module Leader Dr Christina Hatzimichael Whitley
Semester Autumn Semester
Academic Year 2022/3

Outline Description of Module

Relationships between men and women are as old as humanity itself and it is easy to assume that they haven’t changed much in all that time. But is this really the case? Through a series of case studies crossing two thousand years of Mediterranean history, this course will seek to answer that question. To achieve this, it  will discuss how gender studies can help us understand better the material culture and will address the influence of gender studies in European prehistory, the Mediterranean, Mesoamerica, Classical Greece and Italy and Medieval Europe. More specifically, the course will address issues such as the construction of gender, “gender crossers”, notions of identity, agency, childhood and old age, the body, houses and gender, social complexity and gender. It will also approach the issue of gender through a variety of material evidence such as art and iconography, burials, houses, pottery and textile production, as well as literary evidence.

On completion of the module a student should be able to

  • Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of issues relating to gender and childhood in the archaeological record
  • Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of debates on the extent to which gender identities are socially constructed
  • Demonstrate the ability to extract and information on gender from relevant archaeological sources and then analyse it.
  • Demonstrate the ability to use information from class and independent research to construct an academically-sound argument.

 

How the module will be delivered

The module will be delivered through nine weekly 2-hour sessions on weekday evenings from 7-9pm. These sessions will consist of a mixture of informal lectures, audio-visual resources, class discussion and group work on specific topics relating to the module. The discussion and group work will enable the students to think critically and contribute to the debates and topics presented during the lectures. Students will also be expected to read relevant printed material and use that as the basis for contributions in class. The discussion-led sessions and the lectures themselves will be supplemented by internet resources available to the students via blackboard

Skills that will be practised and developed

  • The ability to communicate ideas and arguments effectively, whether in class discussion or in written form
  • The ability to work effectively with others in groups and to learn collaboratively through discussion and interaction
  • The ability to think critically, analyse sources, evaluate arguments, and challenge assumptions.
  • The ability to formulate and justify their own arguments and conclusions and present appropriate supporting evidence
  • The ability to locate relevant resources in the library and online and use them appropriately in academic work
  • The ability to use a range of information technology resources to assist  with information retrieval and assignment presentation
  • The ability to independently organise study methods, manage time effectively, and prioritise workload to meet deadlines

How the module will be assessed

Secondary source review  30% Exact nature of task will vary from year to year  Week 3

Essay 70%  Exact nature of task will vary from year to year   Week 8

Assessment Breakdown

Type % Title Duration(hrs)
Written Assessment 100 Coursework N/A

Syllabus content

Introduction to Gender in Archaeology

This session will introduce the main themes that will be discussed during the course: identity, the body, social constructions of gender and age, masculinity and sexuality, production and gender. We will cover the beginnings of gender archaeology and provide a brief overview of the major issues that started to be addressed from the 1960’s onwards in the archaeological literature regarding gender.

 

Gender in Prehistory part I: The Palaeolithic

This session will cover the Palaeolithic period (the Stone Age) in Europe. We will discuss modern bias regarding the period and gender roles and we will look into gender and subsistence in gatherer-hunter societies, gender and manufacture of tools and production of art and gender and symbolism. Also we will discuss the Venus figurines and debates regarding their symbolism and function.

 

Gender in Prehistory part II. Approaches of Gender in Prehistoric Mediterranean  Archaeology.

In this session we will approach gender from an iconographic point of view. We will discuss anthropomorphic figurines from Neolithic Anatolia and Greece. We will explore the iconography of material culture from Bronze Age Crete and Santorini (Thera) and see how women and men are depicted in different media. We will also discuss Evans’ views on women and religion in Minoan Crete and we will cover the Mother Goddess movement and feminist approaches to the subject.

Gender and the Burial Record

In this session we will discuss how mortuary practices provide different avenues of interpretation of gender. We explore the different strands of information that we can gain from the material records.  We see how bones help us understand differences in diet, life-course events, work and lifestyle between men and women. We will also discuss how status and wealth relates to gender and we will explore two case studies from the Early Iron Age: the “princess of Vix” and the mortuary evidence from Greece (Athens, Euboea).

Approaches of Gender in Classical Greece and Italy. Gender, Body and Sexuality in Classical Sculpture

We will discuss if Classical archaeologists (Greek and Italian) apply distinct approaches regarding gender and if yes, what are these and on what particular topics. We will discuss the visibility of women and children archaeologically during archaic and classical times and how literature complements this evidence. We will also look into issues of masculinity and sexuality in ancient Greece.

The Archaeology of Childhood

Archaeology until recently has paid little attention to the importance of age in social groups of the past. We will discuss the past and most recent archaeological approaches on age and culture and the different methods employed to make children visible. We will cover topics like historical and cultural constructions of age and childhood and agency.

Gender and Social and Political Complexity. Various Case Studies

The distribution of wealth and power in ancient societies has been the subject of scrutiny over centuries. In this session we will review the different theoretical approaches of social and political complexity and we shall see how women are discussed in relation to these subjects. One of the case studies for discussion will be the Classic Mayan Society.

The  House and the Household: Men, Women, Children

In this session we will discuss how gender differences and the nexus of relations between generations manifest themselves in domestic spaces. We will explore different archaeological case studies from Neolithic Southeast Europe and Classical Greece as well as ethno-archaeological examples.

Archaeology and Gender. Recapitulation and Conclusions

The last meeting aims to bring together the different strands of knowledge that we gained from the various case studies. We will revisit the different topics examined in previous lectures and debate how they helped us understand the notion of gender in ancient societies. We will look again at the methods used by archaeologists to approach gender and discuss their advantages and disadvantages.


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