Unit name | The Origins of the Celts |
---|---|
Unit code | ARCH30032 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | H/6 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
Unit director | Professor. Heyd |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Department of Anthropology and Archaeology |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit will focus on the Celts in Continental Europe and Britain (c.1100 BCE - 100 AD). It will acquaint students with the archaeology and early history of different Iron Age societies mostly of the 1st millennium BCE, with special reference to the Celts. Research of the last 30 years and recent fieldwork has altered our views and conception of the origins of the Celts and of many other related topics, such as the emergence of iron technology; Scythians and Sarmatians of the steppes and their impact on farming in Europe; the Late Hallstatt princely cultures and their engagement with Mediterranean Greeks and Etruscans; the emergence of Celtic art; the background of Celtic language; the expansion of the Celts and the Celtic migration to the Mediterranean; the subsequent Oppida civilisation; and finally Germanic pressure, Roman conquest and the afterlife of Celtic populations. The unit will review these developments and discuss and analyse them methodologically in the light of the latest research.
Aims:
On successful completion of this unit, students will have:
1) solid knowledge of a number of Celtic and Iron Age sites in Continental Europe and Britain;
2) a detailed view of the relationship of the Celtic world with Mediterranean civilisations, steppe populations, as well as Germanic tribes and the Romans;
3) an extensive and critically informed view on theoretical questions concerning issues such as social hierarchization and formation of elites; burial customs and hoarding practices; acculturation and transmission of innovations and ideas; mobility and migration; and development of territories and formation of tribes in their practical application to Celtic Europe and Britain.
4) the ability to present structured arguments in writing and verbally, appropriate to Level H.
Weekly 2hr session to include both formal lectures and seminar discussions.
All the assessment is summative:
One 15-minute oral presentation (25%), ILOs 1, 2, 4
Exam, 1 hour (25%), ILOs 1, 2
One essay of 3000 words (50%), ILOs 1-4