BA Archaeology & Italian

Archaeology is a broad-based discipline which harnesses material remains to interpret the rich diversity of past societies, from aspects of everyday life including diet and housing, to ideology and belief systems expressed in burial practices, ceremonial monuments and works of art. As a subject, Archaeology lends itself to a fun, challenging and immensely rewarding learning experience which encourages students to realise their full academic and personal potential.

Students choose Archaeology at Reading because of our distinctive and innovative approach to teaching, underpinned by world-class research and facilities. Our formula combines the best traditional period-based teaching in Archaeology (giving complementary insights to other humanities disciplines such as History and Classics) with a strong emphasis on fieldwork and the expanding battery of scientific applications which define the 21st-century discipline.

Description:

In this course you will combine the study of ancient societies through archaeology with the study of a modern language and culture. The Archaeology element combines practical experience (including the opportunity to participate in the Field School at the Roman town of Silchester) with academic study of the archaeology of the prehistoric and historic periods of Europe. The Italian element aims to equip you with the ability to communicate competently in spoken and written Italian, and to give you a sound knowledge of a range of aspects of Italian culture, history and society.

This joint degree involves an even split in workload between the two subjects, and a placement in an Italian university in your third year.

Year 1

Compulsory Modules
Italian Language (Advanced/Intermediate/Beginners)
Twentieth Century Culture
Practising Archaeology

Optional Modules
Italian Medieval & Renaissance Culture (in translation)
Maing Italians
From Rome to Reformation
From Primates to Pyramids
Bones, Bodies and Burial
Analysing Museum Displays

Year 2

Compulsory Modules
Italian Language
Field School
Contemporary practice in British Archaeology

Optional Modules
Italian Cinema
Italian History & Society since 1945
History of the Italian Language
Intellectuals and Society in Twentieth-century Italy
Writing Women in Renaissance Italy
Contemporary Italian Literature

Archaeological Thought
Archaeological Science
The Middle Palaeolithic of Europe
Later Prehistoric Europe
Post-Roman and Early Medieval Europe
Later Medieval Europe
Techniques in Artefact Interpretation
Object Analysis and Museum Interpretation

Year 3

Year Abroad courses
Dissertation
Oral Language Work

Final Year

Italian Language

Optional  Modules
Dante
Court Culture in the Italian Renaissance
European Cinema
The South since 1860: Images and Reality
Italian and its Varieties (Sociolinguistics)
Voice and the Self in Modern Italian Poetry 1900s-1980s
Performance and the Self in Renaissance Italy

Burial Archaeology
Vikings in the West
Hominins
Palaeopathology
Hearths and Handaxes
Coastal and Maritime Archaeology
Civilisation in Mesopotamia
The Age of Hillforts
The Archaeology of Dark Age Britain
Roman Material Culture
'Europe' in the Middle Ages
Imperial Encounters in the Roman World