Module overview
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Evaluate the usefulness of a range of scientific techniques for the analysis of archaeological materials and technologies
- Critically assess the value and appropriate application of a range of social theories employed to understand materials and technology in past and contemporary societies
- Critically assess past and current archaeological approaches to the study of materials and technology
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Analyse complex written texts
- Produce independent research
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- The role of social relations and networks in the creation and maintenance of technological practices and skills
- How archaeologists use social theories to explore the development of technologies and the changing use of materials in past societies
- Scientific techniques for the analysis of archaeological materials and technologies
Subject Specific Practical Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Engage with archaeological and ethnographic objects in order to describe and understand the technology of their production, and how this is embedded in fields of knowledge and social relations
Syllabus
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Independent Study | 124 |
| External visits | 4 |
| Seminar | 22 |
| Total study time | 150 |
Resources & Reading list
Journal Articles
Pfaffenberger, B. (1992). Social Anthropology of Technology. Annual Review of Anthropology, 21, pp. 491-516.
Sofaer, J (2006). Pots, Houses and Metal. Technological Relations at the Bronze Age tell at Százhalombatta, Hungary. Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 25(2), pp. 127-47.
Sigaut, F (1994). Technology. Companion Encyclopedia of Anthropology, pp. 420-59.
Ingold, T. (2007). Materials against materiality. Archaeological Dialogues, 14(1), pp. 1-16.
Ingold, T. (1997). Eight themes in the anthropology of technology. Social Analysis, 41, pp. 106-38.
Textbooks
Adams, J. (2003). Ships, Innovation and Social Change. Stockholm: Stockholm Studies in Archaeology 24. Stockholm Marine Archaeology Reports 3.
Toren, C. (1999). Mind, Materiality and History. Essays in Fijian Ethnography. London.
Schlanger, N. (ed) (2006). Marcel Mauss. Techniques, Technology and Civilisation. Oxford: Durkheim Press / Berghahn Books.
Dobres, MA and Hoffman CR (eds). The Social Dynamics of Technology: Practise, Politics and World Views. Washington.
Leroi-Gourhan, A (1945). Milieu et Technique. Paris.
Latour, B. (2005). Reassembling the Social: an introduction to Actor-Network-Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Gell, A. (1998). Art and Agency: an anthropological theory. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Jones, A. (2002). Archaeological Theory and Scientific Practice. Cambridge: CUP.
Conneller, C. (2011). An Archaeology of Materials: substantial transformations in early prehistoric Europe. London: Routledge.
Lemmonnier, P. (ed.) (1993). Technological Choices: transformations in material culture since the Neolithic. London: Routledge.
Assessment
Assessment strategy
Assessment 1: through the hands-on, self-directed study of an individual object (either archaeological or ethnographic), this assignment helps you understand processes of making and the social relations that exist within technology. Assessment 2 provides the opportunity to develop in detail a chosen aspect of the module through a case study, decided in consultation with the module coordinator.Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Object study | 50% |
| Essay | 50% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Coursework | 100% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External