This online course will explore many aspects of a period which lies on the edge of living memory: 20th-century warfare. Topics will include an introduction to the discipline, war memorials and memorialisation, trench art, the archaeology of military occupation, and the archaeology, commemoration and memorialisation of internment, labour and concentration camps. The session themes will be as follows:
- What is Conflict Archaeology?
- The materiality of war: trench art
- The archaeology of Nazi camps
- Occupation Archaeology
- The memorialisation of war
Aims of the course:
- To introduce students to the concept of Conflict Archaeology.
- To familiarise students with a range of case studies from the archaeology of 20th-century conflict.
- To enable students to work with and evaluate the various resources employed by archaeologists who work with 20th-century material.
Who this course is for:
- Those interested in the study of war and its legacies;
- Those interested in the heritage of war (such as museum exhibitions, monuments, memorials, and heritage sites) in the landscape where they live;
- Those interested in the objects or material culture of war
Schedule (this course is completed entirely online):
Orientation Week: 19-25 October 2020
Teaching Weeks: 26 October- 29 November 2020
Feedback Week: 30 November-6 December 2020
Each week of an online course is roughly equivalent to 2-3 hours of classroom time. On top of this, participants should expect to spend roughly 2-3 hours reading material, etc., although this will vary from person to person.
While they have a specific start and end date and will follow a weekly schedule (for example, week 1 will cover topic A, week 2 will cover topic B), our tutor-led online courses are designed to be flexible and as such would normally not require participants to be online for a specific day of the week or time of the day (although some tutors may try to schedule times where participants can be online together for web seminars, which will be recorded so that those who are unable to be online at certain times are able to access material).
Unless otherwise stated, all course material will be posted on the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) so that they can be accessed at any time throughout the duration of the course and interaction with your tutor and fellow participants will take place through a variety of different ways which will allow for both synchronous and asynchronous learning (discussion boards,etc).
A Certificate of Participation will be awarded to participants who contribute constructively to weekly discussions and exercises/assignments for the duration of the course.
What our students say - December 2018
“This course gave a fascinating insight into the discipline of Conflict Archaeology. The material and exercises provided a stimulating environment in which to explore the subject and develop your own thoughts about areas you were interested in.”
“Gilly obviously took the time to read everyone’s contributions and was interested in what we had to say – this was hugely important.”
“Gilly’s passion and enthusiasm for the subject is infectious! She also encouraged comments and posed interesting challenges which was fundamental in bringing out some really interesting insights from other classmates.”
