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BA Archaeology and Literature
About this course
Archaeology and literature is an unusual combination that brings together two disciplines concerned with the traces that human beings leave behind: one through the physical record in the ground and the landscape, the other through the written and oral texts that cultures produce and transmit. Archaeology investigates the material past, using excavation, survey, dating techniques and environmental analysis to reconstruct how people lived in periods for which written records are absent or incomplete. Literature studies the texts that societies have created to express, examine and transmit their values, stories and understanding of the world. At the University of the Highlands and Islands, this four-year programme is offered in a way that suits students who need to combine their studies with other commitments, working through the material in a flexible mode. You will develop skills in archaeological fieldwork and analysis alongside the close reading and critical engagement that literary study demands, building an unusual combination of empirical investigation and interpretive sensitivity. The Highlands and Islands region provides exceptional archaeological resources, from Neolithic monuments and Iron Age settlements to Norse and post-medieval material culture, and the literary tradition of Scotland from medieval Gaelic verse to twentieth-century Scottish fiction offers a rich area of study with particular regional relevance. A typical entry tariff of around 104 points is expected. Graduates pursue careers in commercial archaeology, heritage management, museum and gallery work, archival research, publishing, education and the broader cultural sector. The combination of practical archaeological skill and literary understanding is valued wherever organisations need people who can engage with the material and textual dimensions of cultural heritage, and many graduates go on to postgraduate study in either discipline or in interdisciplinary fields such as heritage studies, Celtic studies or creative writing.
Syllabus & Modules
Typical curriculumStudent Satisfaction
National Student Survey - 15 respondents (63% response rate)
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