Methodology of archaeology - obligatory lecture for MA 2800-AOMET-1MA

1) Introduction – The Importance of theory
The classes will be devoted to introducing the main issues which will be subject of study and discussion, presenting their purpose and thematic scope as well as the rules for passing them.
2) What is science? – scientific method and archaeology as a science
The classes will discuss what is science and the scientific method and what place archaeology occupies in science.
3) Theory of archaeological record
The classes will be devoted to discussing what is an archaeological source, its definition, various types of archaeological sources and its various concepts and classifications. The question of two approaches to the archaeological source will also be discussed - the physical and the textual concept of the source.
4) Formation proceses in archaeology – how archaeological record is created
During the classes, we will discuss the issue of how archaeological record is created and what processes of transformation it undergoes before it is discovered and interpreted by an archaeologist. Four stages of the formation of archaeological sources will be discussed - the cultural-historical, depositional, post-depositional and exploratory process. In addition, the natural and cultural factors that shape archaeological sources will also be analyzed.
5) Classification
Classes will be devoted to the issue of classification. The concept of type and typology as well as three basic types of classification systems in archaeology will be discussed – arbitrary classification, numerical classification and cladistics.
6) Culture-historical archaeology - assumptions, main ideas and methods
Classes will be devoted to discussing the main representatives, assumptions and methods of cultural-historical archaeology. The discussion will focus on issues such as the concept of archaeology as history, archaeological culture, typology, culture-historical description, the Hawkes ladder as well as explanation of cultural change by a diffusion and migration.
7) Processual archaeology – an alternative to culture-historical archaeology
The lecture will be devoted to presenting the paradigm of processual archaeology, the reasons for its birth, intellectual background, main representatives and methods. The discussion will focus on issues such as archaeology as a science and anthropology, the relationship between archaeology and science, the deductive method, the middle-range theory, and ethnoarchaeology.
8) Postprocessual archaeology and interpretative archaeologies – how to read the past?
The lecture will aim to present the post-processual paradigm as a reaction to the positivist, processual model, its research inspirations (structuralism and post-structuralism, semiotics, hermeneutics, Marxism, critical theory) as well as research methods. There will be also discussed such issues as the concept of archaeology as reading the past, multiple interpretations, objectivity and subjectivity in the interpretation of material culture
9) Feminist, gender and queer archaeologies
The lecture will outline the history of feminist studies as well as gender and queer theory in the humanities. Emphasis will be placed primarily on the discussion of two issues: 1) the impact of these approaches on building interpretations of the past (e.g. the role of women in the past, the place of sexual minorities in the past communities) and 2) the status of women and minorities in archaeological practice (e.g. the role of women in academia).
10) Archaeology and cultural evolution
The course will define and discuss the concept of evolution and the main assumptions of cultural evolution as well as its application to archaeology. The strengths and weaknesses of the idea of cultural evolution and the assumptions of unilinear and multi-linear evolution will also be presented.
11) Archaeology and Darwinian evolution
The lecture will outline Darwin's evolutionary theory and its reception in archaeology - neo-evolutionism, cultural ecology, sciobiology, co-evolutionary theory, selections archaeology, and memetics.
12) Archaeology and history
The classes will be devoted to the mutual relations of history and archaeology as dsiciplines dealing with the past and inspirations that archaeologists can draw from different views of historical theory and practice. Different approaches present in history will be discussed, most notably traditional history and the Annales school. The assumptions of historical archaeology (the archaeological study of historic periods) will also be presented.
13) Archaeology, politics and culture
The classes will be devoted to the question of the entanglement of archaeological knowledge in conditions related to the current politics and social situation. We will consider to what extent archaeological knowledge can be useful in solving current problems and what is the role of archaeology in shaping different identities. We will discuss to what extent the archaeology can be used or abused to solve political issues, as well as present the issues of narrativism, lingustic turn and relativism.
14) The archaeology of things or new material culture studies
The lecture will be devoted to a new approach to the study of material culture in archaeology known as return to things or defence of things. We will learn about the importance of material culture in people's lives, how it can be studied in other ways, and what the biography of things is.
15) Conclusions
The final meeting will be devoted to summarize the issues discussed throughout the course.