ARCH30760 Early Medieval Ireland and Bey

Academic Year 2020/2021

What was it like to be a person in early medieval Ireland, in its northwest Europe context, AD 400-1100? Who did you think you were, and to what communities did you feel you belonged? How did you use buildings, landscapes and things to create and re-negotiate your social identities of ethnicity, kinship, gender, age, and social status? What was it like to be a king in early medieval Ireland, and how did you use place, performance, and material possessions to signal power, status and ancestry? What was it like to be a man, woman or child in a homestead in early medieval Ireland, and how did you experience the world? What was it like to be a young woman working at making a meal, or a craftsperson working in a Viking town, or a trader sailing your boat along the European sea lanes? What was it like to be an early medieval Irish monk on an island in the Atlantic, facing out into the abyss of hell across the ocean? This module will explore peoples' lives - from birth, through life experiences, to death and their ideas of the afterlife - in the early Middle Ages in Ireland and beyond. We will use evidence from archaeological excavations of houses, dress and costume, burial archaeology, early Irish historical sources, and archaeological sciences to explore how alike and different these people were from us, and what this tells us about our own humanity. Due to Covid-19, this module will be delivered online, with multiple resources on Brightspace.

Show/hide contentOpenClose All

Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of the module, students will:

-be familiar with different aspects of social identity in early medieval Ireland and Europe, particularly ethnicity, religion, kinship, gender and social status.

-have a developed sense of the potential and challenges in using archaeological evidence for buildings, landscapes and material culture in the investigation and interpretation of early medieval social identities in Ireland and beyond.

-be able to reflect on, discuss, and develop their own ideas on how people in the past used, and in the present use, material culture to establish, negotiate and perform social identities of gender, status, ethnicity, religion, amongst others

Indicative Module Content:

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Seminar (or Webinar)

24
Autonomous Student Learning

150
Total

174
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
The module is taught using thematic lectures (on powerpoints delivered through Brightspace). There will be plenty of readings available on Brightspace, which will support your learning and your completion of your project and end-of-semester essay. We will also have weekly meetings via Brightspace learning environment. 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Incompatibles:
ARCH30530 - Early MedievalIreland&Beyond


 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Essay: Essay on social identity, texts & material culture in early medieval Ireland: optional 'questions' based on module teaching materials, will be provided before submission deadline. Week 12 n/a Graded No

50
Project: Project analysing a selected early medieval archaeological site, exploring how it reflects different aspects of early medieval social identities (e.g. ethnicity, gender, kinship, social status, etc) Week 6 n/a Graded No

50

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Online automated feedback

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

The project and essay build on module teaching (lectures, readings, class work) to build an understanding of social identity in early medieval Ireland and beyond, and how archaeologists can approach it.

Name Role
Dr Brendan O'Neill Lecturer / Co-Lecturer