Undergraduate Course: Social Bioarchaeology: Living Conditions, Lifestyles and the Impact of Disease in the Past (ARCA10092)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | What was life like in the past? How can bioarchaeology help us understand the impact of social change and catastrophic events such as famines and war? What factors have influenced health and longevity in past societies? These are some questions that will be discussed in this course, which focuses on current research topics in social bioarchaeology. |
| Course description |
This course will introduce students to current research topics in social bioarchaeology that focus on health and disease in the past and the application of social theory in bioarchaeology. Different themes will be explored, such as the current understanding of the impact of the introduction of agriculture and more sedentary lifestyles, as well as work environment and general living condition to overall health in past societies. Similarly, the detrimental impact of social injustice, discrimination and racism on human well-being will be discussed.
Using archaeological and bioarchaeological sources, interpreted in an interdisciplinary setting, students will explore how people have responded or adjusted to these factors. They will learn how studies of burials and archaeological skeletons can give us an insight into how social relations were constructed and formed in the past. Other than discussing these topics in an archaeological/historical settings, students will be given the opportunity to reflect on factors that determines health in contemporary society today.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Pre-requisites: Archaeology 2A and 2B, or Honours entry to degrees in Classics, or equivalent. |
| Additional Costs | Potentially public transport cost within the City of Edinburgh. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least 3 Archaeology courses at Grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses. Enrolments for this course are managed by the CAHSS Visiting Student Office, in line with the quotas allocated by the department. All enquiries to enrol must be made through the CAHSS Visiting Student Office. It is not appropriate for students to contact the department directly to request additional spaces. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2019/20, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 24 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework: 1,500 word annotated bibliography (30%), and
2,500 word book review - 1 monograph (40%), and
Academic poster - The Social Impact of Disease in the Past (30%) |
| Feedback |
Students will receive feedback on their coursework, and will have the opportunity to discuss that feedback further with the Course Organiser during their published office hours for this course or by appointment. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding, through course work, of how social conditions have affected health in the past;
- Demonstrate a basic knowledge of how disease is studied from archaeological human remains, by attending workshops;
- Demonstrate ability to source research and study material through writing an annotated bibliography;
- Demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate and assess research and source materials through writing a book review and an annotated bibliography;
- Demonstrate the ability to perform outreach and science communication through posters in a conference-style setting.
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Reading List
Agarwal, S. C. & Glencross, B. A. (Eds.) (2011), Social Bioarchaeology. Chicester: Wiley-Blackwell.
Cohen, M. N., & Armelagos, G. J. (Eds.) (2013). Paleopathology at the Origins of Agriculture (2nd ed.). Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida.
Geber, J. (2015). Victims of Ireland's Great Famine: The Bioarchaeology of Mass Burials at Kilkenny Union Workhouse. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida.
Gowland, R & Knüsel, C. (Eds.) (2006). Social archaeology of funerary remains. Oxford: Oxbow Books.
Harding, V. (1998). Burial on the margin: Distance and discrimination in early modern London. In M. Cox (Ed.), Grave concerns: Death and burial in England 1700 to 1850 (pp. 54-64). York: Council for British Archaeology.
Hutchinson, D. L. (2016). Disease and discrimination: Poverty and pestilence in Colonial Atlantic America. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida.
Klaus, H. D., Harvey, A. R. & Cohen, M. N. (Eds.) (2017). Bones of Complexity: Bioarchaeological Case Studies of Social Organization and Skeletal Biology. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida.
Murphy, M. S. & Klaus, H. D. (Eds.) (2017). Colonized Bodies, World Transformed: Toward a Global Bioarchaeology of Contact and Colonialism. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida.
Rathbun, T. A., & Steckel, R. H. (2002). The health of slaves and free blacks in the east. In R. H. Steckel & J. C. Rose (Eds.), The backbone of history: Health and nutrition in the Western Hemisphere (pp. 208-225). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Razzell, P., & Spence, C. (2006). The Hazards of Wealth: Adult Mortality in Pre-Twentieth-Century England. Social History of Medicine, 19(3), 381-405.
Steckel, R. H., & Rose, J. C. (2002). Patterns of health in the Western Hemisphere. In R. H. Steckel & J. C. Rose (Eds.), The backbone of history: Health and nutrition in the Western Hemisphere (pp. 563-579). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Tilley, L. (2015). Theory and Practice in the Bioarchaeology of Care. New York, NY: Springer |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Jonny Geber
Tel: (0131 6)50 3534
Email: jonny.geber@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Katy Robinson
Tel: (0131 6)50 3780
Email: krobins3@ed.ac.uk |
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