This course provides both a background to Saharan & Sub-Saharan African archaeology and thematic issues in African heritage management.
Both tangible and intangible heritage are considered, as well as interpretive and preservation issues.
Aims and Objectives of the course
- to familiarize students with the diversity of Africa's tangible and intangible Heritage, including an archaeological background for Saharan & Sub-Saharan Africa
- to provide an understanding of the multiple threats to this Heritage and how it may be protected, managed and preserved.
- to provide students with an understanding of how to interpret and communicate African Heritage values and threats to diverse communities and stake holders.
- to critically examine the production and politics of Heritage in Africa.
Learning Outcomes
On completion of the course students will gain knowledge and understanding of:
- Africa's major historic, cultural and archaeological sites
- The diversity and value of intangible African cultural forms such as performance, oral history, indigenous knowledge etc.
- The contemporary significance of Heritage values within diverse spheres including education, identity and politics
Teaching Methods
The course begins with a review of constructions of the African past and then presents a summary of key periods, issues, and sites from across the continent. There then follows a series of thematic lectures dealing more generally with museums, memory, tourism and material culture. Assessment is by two 2000 word essays.
Course information
- Code: ARCL0198
- Credits: 15
- Coordinator: Kevin MacDonald and Rachel King
- Prerequisite: This course does not have a prerequisite.
- Handbook:
For registered students
- Reading list:
Availability
- Not running in 2023-24