Anthropology and Archaeology

This mutually enriching Joint Honours programme equips students in identifying historical and contemporary patterns of social organisation, human-environment relationships, ethnic and cultural divisions, varieties of inequality, and patterns of change over time across diverse societies.

Anthropology is the study of human diversity around the world, and studying Anthropology together with Archaeology allows you to develop an understanding of how this diversity has changed over long periods. In studying Anthropology and Archaeology, you will learn how different societies live and have lived together, and think about such topics as family, sex, religion, art, and economics, as well as gaining skills increasingly in demand in a globalised and automated world.

The BA in Anthropology and Archaeology at Queen’s will allow you to examine some of the deepest and most pressing questions about human beings. Issues addressed in our modules include:

• What are the roots of social inequality?

• Does globalisation mean the end of cultural difference?

• Can a post-conflict society heal?

• How do societies and their environment shape each other?

• How do ritual traditions, musical performances, and art shape cultural identities?

• How do some people become willing to die for a group?

Studying Anthropology and Archaeology at Queen’s progressively develops general and specific knowledge and skills, through fieldwork, classroom modules, optional placements, overseas fieldtrips, performance ensembles, laboratory and practical work. A wide range of career options are available to our graduates, drawing on the valuable skills they develop in this course, including critical thinking, cross-cultural understanding, researching, interviewing, writing, and presenting.

Anthropology modules offered on this course examine the nature of social groups, from families to nations, the social dynamics at work within those groups, important themes in religion and morality, as well as the production, appropriation and use of material artefacts and images in a world of interconnectedness through migration, trade, and digital communication technology. Some modules deal directly with large-scale Global Challenges such as conflict, security, and peacebuilding. Issues such as migration, ethnic conflict, and globalisation will be covered across all three years of the degree, with specialist modules looking at Ireland and at the role of anthropology in policy. The archaeology modules available on this course focus on different periods of World, European and Irish/British archaeology, from human origins to modern times and heritage, allowing students to develop both their theoretical background knowledge and their practical skills in equal measure, and adding depth of time to some of the themes explored in Anthropology modules.

The way in which students are assessed in this course is designed to support the learning outcomes of the programme and of each specific module. A broad range of formative and summative assessment methods is used. Some modules are assessed solely through project work or written assignments. Others are assessed through a combination of coursework, including essays, reports, portfolios, presentations, reflective journals, and exams. As students progress through their course, they receive general and specific feedback that will help them to improve the quality of their work.