Theories of Archaeology [ LARKO2220 ]

Support : bibliography (files on the intranet of the Department).

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The class examines the origin and the nature of actual theoretical approaches in archaeology and explores the variety of contemporary archaeologies, their place in the traditional divide between arts and science, and considers the nature of archaeological data, the reasoning and argumentation in a context of continuous development and archaeological praxis.

Basic introduction to the main tendencies of interpretation in archaeology, especially from the beginning of the 20th century onwards.

Continuous evaluation.

Ex cathedra lectures.

The aim of the class is to trace the history and impact of theoretical archaeology and to explore the diversity of theoretical approaches in contemporary archaeological praxis. The course consists of two parts: the first focuses on archaeological theory since the 1900s noting principal players, theoretical positions and the cultural context in which the main archaeological themes were studied. Prime attention is given to the debate between processual and post-processual archaeology. The second part is more eclectic and several themes that are important in modern archaeology are considered such as agency, memory, evolution, nationalism, feminism etc..

Specialised chapters in general methodological books and papers. Compulsory reading: B. Trigger, A History of Archaeological Thought. 2nd ed.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.

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