Mar 29, 2024  
2018 - 2019 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2018 - 2019 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

ANTH 339 - Inside Irish Archaeology


Spring (3) Horning

The course approaches the full scope of the archaeology of Ireland, from c. 8,000BCE to the present, from an anthropological standpoint. Students will be introduced to the processes, sites, landscapes and material culture associated with Irish history and culture from the Mesolithic through to the contemporary world, and are encouraged to consider changing interpretations of Ireland’s past. Questions about migration, settlement, external influences, and language politics all impact upon understandings of Irish culture and Irishness in the present day, as they intersect with questions of nationalism and identity, and the commodification of heritage in the 21st century. The course therefore begins by considering the role of heritage in Ireland today, with an overview of the historiography of archaeological interpretation and the practice of archaeology in both jurisdictions (Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland) on the island. Next, each major period in Irish archaeology is considered through the use of case studies and multiple sources of evidence, as well as the changing manner in which archaeological sites have been and continue to be understood, interpreted, and presented.