HISU5577 - Archaeology of the Middle Ages, Historic Archaeology, Contemporary Archaeology and Material Culture Studies 2025/26 Winter

The course offers an introduction to the origins and the development of the concept of medieval archaeology and the archaeology of the Modern Era. While the application of archaeological methods was commonly accepted to study prehistory and antiquity centuries ago, it only became a basic scientific concept for the Middle Ages (including the Early Middle Ages and the Migration Period) much later, in the 20th century. Over the past decades, it has become generally accepted by international research that the Early and Late Modern Era or even the recent past (contemporary history) can be studied using the methods of archaeology and that this approach brings significant improvement in the understanding of these periods. Therefore, the course focuses on the most important research trends, methodological approaches and theoretical questions connected to the study of these periods on the basis of archaeological sources. The presented case studies will also deal with the trends of material culture studies, including the ‘materiality turn’ and other historical concepts. Furthermore, the course will discuss the issues connected to archaeological heritage. In a similar way, ideas and concepts, such as archaeological sites, historical monuments and their archaeological investigations, community archaeology, and landscape archaeology will be discussed with the help of historical and archaeological narratives. In a subsequent phase, the participants analyze the role of archaeological heritage in the nation making processes of the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty first centuries. Furthermore, the course focuses on the contemporary varieties of archaeological investigations and heritage making. It explains the academic, political and social reasons behind the recent expansion of ‘modern archaeology’ and the impact of postcolonial or Holocaust studies on the research of archaeological heritage. Case studies taken from different regions and continents illustrate how archaeological sites, finds and heritage became powerful alternatives of professional historical research, citizen science or media coverage.