Postgraduate Course: The Iron Age of Western Temperate Europe until the Third Century BC (PGHC11068)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course examines the early stages of the Iron Age in temperate Europe (from Central Europe to the British Isles and Iberia). The main aim is to analyse the changes in settlement patterns and burial record, including the development of the first urban and proto-urban centres and of sumptuous elite graves. The course also discusses the concept of the 'Celts', the emergence of the La Tčne Culture and the migration period of the 4th-3rd centuries BC. |
| Course description |
In many parts of Eurasia, the 1st millennium BC marked a fundamental turning point that was accompanied by the appearance of a whole range of phenomena that were to play an important part in shaping our world. Some of the key elements we might mention are early state formations, urbanization, or intercontinental trade networks. In temperate Europe, this age of increasing mobility of people, ideas and goods saw the development of the first urban agglomerations, the appearance of sumptuous aristocratic and royal burials, and close contacts with the Mediterranean world. This course provides an overview on the main developments that took place between ca. 800-300 BC, from the centralisation processes of the Hallstatt period (Fürstensitze) to the birth of the La Tčne art and the so-called żCeltic migrationsż of the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. It also aims to critically analyse the concept of the żCeltsż and its use and misuse in political and societal discourses.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, command of the body of knowledge considered in the course
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, an ability to read, analyse and reflect critically upon relevant scholarship
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, an ability to understand, evaluate and utilise a variety of source material
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, the ability to develop and sustain scholarly arguments in oral and written form, by formulating appropriate questions and utilising relevant evidence
- demonstrate independence of mind and initiative; intellectual integrity and maturity; an ability to evaluate the work of others, including peers
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Reading List
Arnold, B & Gibson, B (eds.) (1995): Celtic chiefdom, Celtic state. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Collis, J. (2006): The Celts. Origins, Myths and Inventions. Stroud: Tempus.
Cunliffe, B. (2003): The Celts: a Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Diepeveen-Jansen, M. (2001): People, Ideas and Goods. New Perspectives on 'Celtic Barbarians' in Western and Central Europe. Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam.
Fernández-Götz, M.; Wendling, H. and Winger, K. (eds.) (2014): Paths to Complexity ż Centralisation and Urbanisation in Iron Age Europe. Oxbow Books, Oxford.
Fernández-Götz, M. (2014): Identity and Power: the transformation of Iron Age societies in northeast Gaul. Amsterdam Archaeological Studies 21. Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam.
Fernández-Götz, M. & Krausse, D. (2013): Rethinking Early Iron Age Urbanisation in Central Europe: The Heuneburg Site and its Archaeological Environment. Antiquity 87, 336, 473-487.
Haselgrove, C. & Pope, R. (eds.) (2007): The Earlier Iron Age in Britain and the Near Continent. Oxbow Books, Oxford.
Moore, T & Armada, X.-L. (eds.) (2011): Atlantic Europe in the First Millennium BC. Crossing the Divide. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Ralston, I. (2010): Fragile States in Mid-first Millennium B.C. Temperate Western Europe? The View from Bourges. Social Evolution & History 9 (2), 135-159.
Wells, P.S. (2011): żThe Iron Ageż, in S. Milisauskas (ed.), European Prehistory. A Survey (2nd edition). Springer, New York: 405-460. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | iron age western europe temprate |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Manuel Fernandez-Gotz
Tel: (0131 6)51 5223
Email: |
Course secretary | Mr Gordon Littlejohn
Tel: (0131 6)50 3782
Email: |
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