Undergraduate 

Archaeology BSc/MA/MA(SocSci)

Historical Landscapes of the Eastern Mediterranean ARCH4008

  • Academic Session: 2023-24
  • School: School of Humanities
  • Credits: 20
  • Level: Level 4 (SCQF level 10)
  • Typically Offered: Either Semester 1 or Semester 2
  • Available to Visiting Students: Yes

Short Description

This course will apply contemporary theories of archaeological landscapes to the Eastern Mediterranean in the 2nd millennium AD, running approximately from the Crusader invasions to the onset of industrialisation in the 20th century.  The main geographical focuses will be Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Territories.  Themes addressed will include agriculture and the control of surplus; colonialism and resistance; travel and communications; and reconstructing past experiences of the landscape.

Timetable

10x1hr lectures; 10x1hr seminars over 10 weeks as scheduled on MyCampus. This is one of the Honours options in Archaeology and may not run every year. The options that are running this session are available on MyCampus.

Excluded Courses

None

Co-requisites

None

Assessment

One worksheet of 1000 words (20%)

One essay of 1500 words (30%)

One examination of 90 minutes (50%)

Main Assessment In: April/May

Are reassessment opportunities available for all summative assessments? Not applicable

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. For non Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

Course Aims

This course aims to:

■ investigate Eastern Mediterranean archaeological landscapes from the Medieval to Modern periods by means of an overview and a series of case studies

■ apply a range of archaeological landscape theories to specific case studies

■ use a range of sources in the analysis of past landscapes (e.g. survey data, excavation data, historical documents, ethnographic accounts)

■ develop an understanding of the processes of managing and interpreting landscape data

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

■ explain the most significant archaeological and historical issues concerning Eastern Mediterranean landscapes from the Medieval to Modern periods

■ apply theories of landscape archaeology to specific case studies

■ analyse, relate and compare data from a wide variety of sources in order to interpret past landscapes and societies

■ produce landscape analyses using maps and other appropriate analytical tools

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.