BA Archaeology and Anthropology / Course details

Life is constituted of innumerable rituals, that is a set of established or prescribed actions that structure religious and other rites. This course explores the physical evidence, visual cues and behavioural practices bound up in ritual activities and explores their underlying meaning. We will investigate the nature of ritual and its relationship with religion, before looking at surviving locational, stratigraphic, architectural, artefactual and iconographic evidence to help us determine the precise nature of the rituals enacted at sites. This course makes use of detailed case studies from the ancient world and ethnographic examples drawn from a wide range of periods and geographical regions.

1.      To familiarise students with key thinkers and concepts in relation to the study of ritual.

2.      To develop a basic understanding of the main developments in the study of ritual across different disciplines.

3.      To understand key aspects of rituals through the use of diverse case studies drawn from ancient and modern                  examples and diverse regions.

4.      To appreciate the interpretative potential of difference evidence types.

5.     To engage with these thinkers and concepts through the analysis of a ritual object or object group of the student’s           choice.

Upon successful completion of this course unit, students will have:

1.      Gained foundational familiarity with key thinkers and concepts in relation to the study of ritual.

2.      Gained a basic understanding of the main developments in the study of ritual across different disciplines.

3.      Developed understanding of material and performative aspects of rituals through the use of diverse case studies drawn from ancient and modern examples and diverse regions.

4.     Developed awareness of the interpretative potential of difference evidence types.

5.      Demonstrated an awareness to evaluate and reflect critically upon different theoretical approaches and                 evidence  types.

6.      Acquired experience in summarizing ones intellectual position coherently verbally and in writing.

7.      Acquired experience in marshalling the evidence to support ones own argument.

8.      Acquired experience in presenting and reflecting upon evidence orally in a group context.

9.      Demonstrated an ability to utilize Blackboard.

10.    Demonstrated an ability to research a topic using library and internet resources.

11.    Demonstrated an ability to apply appropriate academic conventions for presentation of written arguments.

12.    Demonstrated an ability to describe an archaeological object in writing, making use of appropriate terminology, and to place it into its wider socio-political context.

13.      Gained practice in managing time and working to deadlines.

14.      Acquired experience in contributing to group discussions.

15.      Demonstrated an ability to communicate effectively in written work.

16.      Developed experience in a critical use of the Internet to retrieve information.

17.      Gained experience in utilizing computer word processing software.

18.      Gained experience in presenting an archaeological object with relevant photos and illustrations.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Dietler, M. and Hayden, B., 2010. Feasts: archaeological and ethnographic perspectives on food, politics, and power. University of Alabama Press.

Dietler, M., 2006. Alcohol: Anthropological/archaeological perspectives. Annu. Rev. Anthropol., 35, pp.229-249.

Fogelin, L., 2007. The archaeology of religious ritual. Annu. Rev. Anthropol.,36, 55-71.

Inomata, T. and Coben, L.S. eds., 2006. Archaeology of performance: theaters of power, community, and politics. Rowman Altamira.

Gell, A. The Technology of Enchantment and the enchantment of technology. In: The Art of Anthropology: Essays and Diagrams, edited by E. Hirsch, pp. 159–86. Oxford: Berg.

Insoll, T. 2004 Archaeology, ritual, religion. Psychology Press.

Insoll, T., 2011. The Oxford handbook of the archaeology of ritual and religion. Oxford University Press.

Kyriakidis, E., 2007. The archaeology of ritual. Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of California.

Laneri, N., 2007. An archaeology of funerary rituals. Oriental Inst Publications Sales.

Malone, C. and Barrowclough, D., 2010. Cult in Context: Reconsidering Ritual in Archaeology. Oxbow books.

Pearson, M.P. and Pearson, M.P., 1999. The archaeology of death and burial. Phoenix Mill, UK: Sutton.

Renfrew, C. 1985. The Archaeology of Cult. London: Thames & Hudson.

Rowan, Y.M., 2011. Beyond Belief: The Archaeology of Religion and Ritual. Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association, 21(1), pp.1-10.

Van Gennep, A. 1960. Rites of Passage. London. Routledge & Keegan Paul.