Archaeology

This course explores the time when the “Peoples of the Sea” roamed the southern Italian coasts, to the epic era in which Rome and Carthage fought for control over the Mediterranean basin, all the way to the period when Rome lost control of the Mediterranean at the end of Antiquity. One key component of the course consists in a number of fieldtrips to the most famous archeological sites around Naples, including Ischia, Paestum, and Pompeii. The fieldtrips are organized in temporal sequence, and so are the readings and seminar discussion, so as to arrange the course roughly in historical progression from ancient times to late antiquity. The focuses intensively on certain periods and themes, oscillating from the local to the Mediterranean at large, and from the particular to the general. In-class meetings consist of lectures and seminar discussions focusing on the history of Mediterranean life, culture, and politics in a certain historical period; fieldtrips focus more specifically on local history in that period.

The course gives a broad overview of the archaeology, history, and art history of the material culture and of the written sources from the eighth to the twelfth centuries. The course covers different aspects of the political, social, cultural, and religious developments, as well as changes within Scandinavia. This includes such aspects as the transition from paganism to Christianity, Viking Age burials, gender and social segregation, trade and plundering, rural and urban landscapes, and economic development.

This course focuses on the history and culture of the Africans in the diaspora on the African continent (especially West Africa) and the Americas (North America, the Caribbean, and South America). The course examines major issues and conditions in Africa that sent many people into diaspora communities in Africa. Specific issues considered in this direction are those related to Islamic Jihads, Trans-Saharan Trade, Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, Colonialism, and plantation slavery in West Africa, as these events led to the relocation and redistribution of African populations in Africa. Additionally, the course reviews archaeological evidence that provides insights into the historical experiences of the African Diaspora as seen from the Americas.

This course examines the disciplinary history of archaeology, research objects, research methods, interpretive theories, and the ways and techniques of archaeological work.