Principles of History and Methodology of Archaeology (AOiA)

compulsory

ARCHAEOLOGY

specialization Oriental and Classical Archaeology

1st cycle

Year 3

The course aims to address: position of archaeology within the structure of sciences; objectivist and relativist concepts of knowledge; concepts of archaeological record and their impact upon research procedure; methodological issues in studies of the prehistoric past; archaeological theories and their impact upon research practice in archaeology; social context of archaeology.

Abramowicz A. 1991. Historia archeologii polskiej. XIX i XX wiek. Warszawa: IHKM.

Hodder I. 1995. Czytanie przeszłości. Poznań: Obserwator.

Pałubicka A. & S. Tabaczyński 1986. Społeczeństwo i kultura jako przedmiot badań archeologicznych, [w:] W. Hensel, G. Donato & S. Tabaczyński (red.), Teoria i praktyka badań archeologicznych: 57-183. Wrocław: Ossolineum.

Renfrew C., P. Bahn 2002. Archeologia. Teorie. Metody. Praktyka. Warszawa: Prószyński i S-ka.

Topolski J. 1996. Jak się pisze i rozumie historię. Tajemnice narracji historycznej. Warszawa: Oficyna Wydawnicza Rytm.

Student:

1) will gain the basic knowledge of: relationships between archaeology and philosophy, position of archaeology within the structure of sciences, concepts of culture, ways of practicing science and its impact upon conceptualizing and resolving research issues in archaeology, history of archaeological thought within the context of contemporary theories in the humanities;

2) will gain the understanding of: relations between philosophy, theory and research practice, including its results;

3) will gain the skills necessary to: apply specific research methods, as defined by explicit selection of a given theoretical framework, to explain chosen past phenomena; proper application of basic categories and terms as well as critical reading of archaeological texts.

class participation, in-class presentation, written final quizz and final exam