BA (Hons) Social Anthropology and Archaeology

Social Anthropology and Archaeology seek to understand the nature of human societies, the material worlds they inhabit and the extraordinary variety of cultural life over time.

This integrated undergraduate degree programme is run jointly by the Department of Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology, and the Department of African Studies and Anthropology, who together provide an exceptionally diverse and dynamic learning environment. It is designed both for future archaeologists and anthropologists, and for those seeking an exciting and dynamic non-vocational degree course.

Every aspect of human experience and expression is open to archaeological and anthropological enquiry, including ritual and religion, social organisation, art, architecture, music, mythology, dress, identity, technology, health, violence, migration, economy, and landscape. Each discipline complements and enriches the other and, in combination, guide contemporary understanding of global human culture and its diverse forms, achievements and changing character.

In this degree programme there is great emphasis on student choice, small-group teaching, individual research and thematic study. Areas of study in the course are diverse and the coverage global, ranging from Europe to Africa, Asia and the Americas, and embraces all human cultural life from the Palaeolithic to the present day.