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Key facts
| Type | Weekly Classes |
|---|---|
| Location | Oxford |
| Address | Ewert House Ewert Place Summertown Oxford |
| Dates | Tue 2 Oct to Tue 4 Dec 2012 Day: Tuesday Time of meeting: 10.30am-12.30pm Number of meetings: 10 |
| Subject area(s) | Archaeology |
| CATS points | 10 |
| Fees | From £165.00 |
| Application status | Course ended |
| Course code | O12P935AHW |
| Course contact | If you have any questions about this course, please email ppweekly@conted.ox.ac.uk. |
Overview
Every object from the Middle Ages has a story to tell. Our challenge is how to 'read' it. Archaeology can help unlock concealed meanings within these objects to reveal so much about medieval people, their lives and beliefs.Description
Artefacts are key to understanding the past. Objects from the Middle Ages have stories to tell and archaeology can help unlock this information to reveal fascinating details about medieval lives. In this course we will look at how archaeologists investigate artefacts; the methods used to identify and date them, assessment of their manufacture and craftsmanship and how they are recorded and catalogued. We will explore how we can extract information about the artefacts and the people who owned, used and wore them. Each week we will take a different theme – ranging from the household, food and drink, health and hygiene to gender, medieval mentality, beliefs and identity building. There will be a field trip, which replaces one of the morning sessions, when various objects can be viewed at close quarters. This is an introductory course and no prior knowledge of archaeology is necessary.Programme details
Week 1: Introduction: Classes and types of object, how they are studied, what they can tell us, issues and problems. The themes for future weeks will be outlined.Week 2: The Household
Week 3: Food and Drink
Week 4: Gender and the Body
Week 5: Health, Hygiene and Medical Care
Week 6: Medieval Mentality
Week 7: Sacred and Profane
Week 8: Field Trip - artefact viewing (November 20, Ashmolean Museum)
Week 9: Magical Charms and Amulets
Week 10: Identity Building
Background Reading:
Hinton, D.A. Gold & Gilt, Pots & Pins. Possessions and People in Medieval Britain
Egan, G. and Pritchard, F. Dress Accessories c.1150-c.1450. Medieval Finds from Excavations in London
Egan, G. The Medieval Household. Daily Living c1150-c1450
Staff
Mrs Carole Wheeler
Role: Tutor
Carole Wheeler is an archaeologist specialising in medieval material culture. She has worked in commercial archaeology, at the Ashmolean Museum and...more
Course aims
Course Aim:For students to become familiar with medieval artefacts and the meanings they can convey
Course Objectives:
1. To recognise different types of medieval objects
2. To become familiar with different methods of studying artefacts
3. To recognise each object conveys a number of different meanings that may change over time
Assessment methods
Assessment will be either by five short pieces of work on different types of object or by writing an essay of about 1000 words on a topic selected from a list provided by the tutor.Teaching methods
This course will be a mixture of lectures illustrated with PowerPoint presentations and group discussions. There will be case studies and practical work in the classroom in some of the sessions, and a field trip where students can view and handle medieval objects.Teaching outcomes
By the end of the course students will be able to:1. Recognise different types of medieval objects.
2. Be familiar with how they are studied by archaeologists
3. Have an awareness of how medieval objects can illuminate past lives
Apply for this course
Sorry, this course is not currently accepting applications. If you have any questions about this course, please use the course enquiry form.