Archaeology of the Modern World

Historical archaeology, also called the archaeology of the modern world, investigates the material culture and spatial history of the past five centures. As a discipline, historical archaeology has been characterized by (1) a methodological conjunction between history and archaeology; (2) a topical focus on the ¿three Cs¿: colonization, captivity, and capitalism ¿ forces which arguably are constitutive of the modern world; and (3) an epistemological priority to recovering the perspectives of ¿people without history.¿ Each of these three trends is widely debated yet they continue to profoundly shape the field. This seminar provides an in-depth examination of the emergence and development of this historical archaeology, with a focus on current issues in theory and method. For undergraduates, the prerequisite is Anthro 3 or consent of instructor.