Contemporary Issues and Debates in Archaeology

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• critically interrogate the social and political role of archaeological practice;
• apply aspects of current archaeological thought to archaeological examples;
• demonstrate written communication skills;
• critically evaluate key themes and debates in social archaeology;
• appreciate the contested nature of the past, the variety of values placed upon it, and the sensitivity of academic research.

Subject Specific Practical Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• undertake data collection, synthesis and presentation.
• employ analytical skills appropriate to the study of social archaeology;
• identify appropriate theoretical tools to plan and carry out research for the dissertation in Year 3;

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• gather information from a variety of sources, analyse and evaluate it critically.
• demonstrate written communication skills;

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• how contemporary social, political and economic contexts influence contemporary theory-building and archaeological practice;
• the nature of archaeological practice as an often contested activity in the present;
• the links between archaeology and other disciplines including anthropology, philosophy, sociology, human geography, postcolonial studies and behavioural science.
• a range of current inferential, social and critical archaeological thinking;

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.