GLOBAL DIASPORAS AND THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE HISTORICAL PAST

From the 16th century, Europeans pushed to open trade routes to the east, increasingly disrupting earlier interactions between the southern African interior and the wider Indian Ocean region that had been in place from the 1st millennium AD. The European diaspora in southern Africa created new orders of power, control, and trade that had massive impacts on indigenous societies who were subjected to slavery, genocide, and eventually apartheid. This course examines these interactions and transformations from both foreign and local viewpoints, in which the idea of the frontier is a central theme. The focus is on archaeological evidence and the contribution it makes to understanding the texture of life on frontiers and the new identities that frontiers created. In doing this the relationship between archaeological evidence, written sources and oral history is critically addressed, particularly in the search for perspectives that address cultural change and continuity at the local scale. DP requirements: Attendance at lectures and practicals, completion of assignments. Assessment: Assignments and class tests count 50% towards the final mark and one 3-hour exam written in November counts 50%. A sub-minimum of 40% is required for the examination. Course entry requirements: AGE2011S or AGE2012F, or by permission of the Head of Department.