History of Archaeological Thoughtintroduces students to the development of archaeology as a discipline that critically interprets the materials of the past. In showing the broad outlines of how the subject has developed, mainly but not exclusively within the last 40 or so years, it demonstrates the central role of theory in trying to make sense of the past, and in coming to terms with our own starting point in the present. This module will help you to use your knowledge of period and other modules to inform your reading and writing about theory and interpretation, and vice versa. It will cover the history of archaeology from the earlier part of the twentieth century onwards, concentrating on developments from 1960 to the present. It will look first at the grand narrative of the development of thought in prehistory, and then turn to the rather different histories of ‘historical’ archaeologies (Classical and Medieval).

This module is compulsory for all BA BSc students and optional for BA joint and integrated archaeology; other BA/BSc schemes.

1) A broad understanding of the development of the subject (archaeology), and the various traditions of interpretation which it encompasses;

(2) A more specific understanding of the major themes in the recent development of archaeological thought, and of major internal debates and external influences;

(3) An understanding of current issues in archaeological theory, and of the major terms used in such debates (e.g processual, post-processual, personhood);

(4) An ability to place debates and theories in their proper historical context;

(5) An ability to tease out the theoretical assumptions in works that are not explicitly ‘theoretical’.

The module will be delivered by twenty one-hour lectures. It begins with the standard account of the development of thought in prehistoric archaeology and then moves on to the rather different histories of ‘historical’ archaeologies. These lectures will be supplemented by two seminars and two museum visits, that are designed to address the other skills which this module is designed to foster (namely an ability to ‘read’ the implicit narratives of museum displays, and an ability to summarise the arguments of authors you may not be entirely sympathetic with). Students will also get the chance to obtain written and verbal feedback on their work. 

20 lectures; 2 seminars; two museum visits.

Attendance at lectures, seminars and the field trips is mandatory, in accordance with practice and regulations set out in the Student Handbook. Lectures are as per the timetable; the museum visit and both seminars will be arranged for separate dates.

Skills that will be practised include essay writing and evaluating various theoretical claims; an ability to summarise the arguments of authors whose stance you may not find sympathetic; and an ability to tease out the theoretical assumptions behind museum displays (achieved through writing object biographies, and visits to museums which have very different underlying principles i.e. the Pitt Rivers and the Ashmolean).

The opportunity for reassessment in this module

Students will have the opportunity to re-submit any element of the assessed (précis, object biography or essay) they may have either failed or failed to submit in the first place. Such work can only gain a maximum mark of 40% however, and such calculations will form part of the overall mark for the course.

The first semester will cover the history of archaeology from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present day, concentrating first on how thought in prehistory has developed. Terms such as processual, post-processual and interpretive will be explained The spring semester will be devoted to various forms of historical archaeology and to different national traditions (e.g. the German). It will take a close look at some but not all topics of current interest such as agency, personhood, materiality (this focus will change as the subject itself changes)

Appadurai, A. (ed) 1986. The Social Life of Things: Commodities in Cultural Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (chapters by Appadurai and Kopytoff).

Gosden, C and Marshall, Y. 1999.  The cultural biography of objects. World Archaeology 31,169-78.

Johnson, M 2010. Archaeological theory: An Introduction (2^nd edition). Oxford and Malden MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Renfrew, C. and Bahn, P. 2008. Archaeology: Theories, Methods and Practice (5^th edition, or any later edition). London: Thames and Hudson.

Trigger, B 2006. A history of archaeological thought. (2^nd edition, first edition 1989). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Rethinking Pitt-Rivers: object biographies

Available at: http://web.prm.ox.ac.uk/rpr/index.php/objectbiographies/

World Archaeology at the Pitt Rivers Museum: a characterization

Available at: http://www.prm.ox.ac.uk/world.html

A History of the World in 100 Objects (podcasts)

Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/ahow/all

Archaeology at the BBC - Wheeler; Piggott; Daniels; Childe; Atkinson et al. in action (vodcasts)

Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/collections/p018818x/archaeology-at-the-bbc