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Archaeology

Archaeology

Ideal for those with an interest in the physical remnants of people of the past, archeology courses straddle the humanities and social sciences to look at human history through many millions of years of development. To do this, archaeologists study historical sites, structural remains, bones, tools and other artifacts. Though not guaranteed to be as dramatic as the famous on-screen adventures of fictional archeology professor Indiana Jones, archeology nonetheless offers exciting opportunities to be at the forefront of new discoveries and theories.

Digging deeper into subject interests can help you in a number of ways:

  • Confirm whether this is (or isn't) something you would be interested in enough to want to study it at university either as the focus of your degree or a minor/elective

  • Give you some inspiration to use when creating your questions and topics for IA's (coursework) and your Extended Essay

  • Provide you with content for your university application writing in the future, enabling you to reflect on the things you've been doing to explore your interests in a way that is academically relevant to the course or institution you are applying for.

Useful Resources

Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive, by Jared Diamond
Book
In this book, Jared Diamond investigates the fate of past human societies, and the lessons for our own future. What happened to the people who built the ruined temples of Angkor Wat, the long-abandoned statues of Easter Island, the crumbling Maya pyramids of the Yucatan? All saw their cultures collapse because of environmental crises. And it looks as if those crises were self-induced.
St. Clare's Library L12 909 DIA
The Ancestor's Tale: a pilgrimage to the dawn of life, by Richard Dawkins
Book
THE ANCESTOR'S TALE is a pilgrimage back through time; a journey on which we meet up with fellow pilgrims as we and they converge on our common ancestors. Chimpanzees join us at about 6 million years in the past, orang utans at 14 million years, as we stride on together, a growing band. The journey provides the setting for a collection of some 40 tales. Each explores an aspect of evolutionary biology through the stories of characters met along the way. The tales are interspersed with prologues detailing the journey, route maps showing joining lineages, and life-like reconstructions of our common ancestors. THE ANCESTOR'S TALE represents a pilgrimage on an unimaginable scale: our goal is four billion years away, and the number of pilgrims joining us grows vast - ultimately encompassing all living creatures. At the end of the journey lies something remarkable in its simplicity and transformative power: the first, humble, replicating molecules.
St. Clares Library L24 576.8 DAW
The Innocent Anthropologist, by Nigel Barley
Book
When writing this book the author set up home in a mud hut in order to study the customs and beliefs of the Dowayo people of Cameroon.
St. Clares Library L25 301 BAR
The Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins
Book
Dawkins' theory that genes may reach outside the bodies in which they sit and manipulate other individuals is recapitulated in this book, this edition of which has two new chapters - a summary of the arguments and a new argument on the co-operation between the selfish genes.
St. Clares Library L33 576.5 DAW
Watching the English: the hidden rules of English behaviour, by Kate Fox
Book
Anthropologist Kate Fox takes a revealing look at the quirks, habits and foibles of the English people. She puts the English national character under her anthropological microscope, and finds a strange and fascinating culture, governed by complex sets of unspoken rules and byzantine codes of behaviour. The rules of weather-speak. The ironicgnome rule. The reflex apology rule. The paranoid-pantomime rule. Class indicators and class anxiety tests. The money-talk taboo and many more...Through a mixture of anthropological analysis and her own unorthodox experiments (using herself as a reluctant guinea-pig), Kate Fox discovers what these unwritten behaviour codes tell us about Englishness.
St. Clares Library L25 306 FOX
Summer Schools in Europe
Events
The most complete directory of summer courses in Europe. It includes courses for high school, undergraduate and graduate students, so ensure you read the descriptions to find options right for you.
Click Here >
Research from the University of Bristol
Journal Articles | Website
Explore cutting edge research from the different faculties and departments from the University of Bristol, including free access to their published journal articles.
Click Here >
Coursera
Online Course
Coursera is an online platform for distance learning. They have a range of free courses delivered by universities. Search in this section to find courses of interest to you, often these are courses you can follow at your own pace.
Click Here >
EdX
Online Course
The X Series courses on the EdX platform are free online courses delivered by universities and aimed at helping you explore areas of interest.
Click Here >
FutureLearn
Online Course
FutureLearn is a free online platform where universities from around the globe host FREE online courses you can undertake in your areas of interest. Browse courses by categories or use the search bar to find courses relevant to your interests
Click Here >
Digging for Meaning: Research from the Oxford School of Archaeology
Podcast
Researchers studying archaeological remains from across the whole range of the human past discus the sometimes surprising meanings they have found while digging through what we have left behind. From recycling Romans to voyaging Vikings, twisting Silk Roads to modern hunter-gathers of Borneo, let experts from the Oxford School of Archaeology take you on a journey to the past, which might just change how you travel into the future.
Click Here >
TORCH | The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities
Podcast | Recorded Lecture
The University of Oxford is home to an impressive range and depth of research activities in the Humanities. TORCH | The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities is a major new initiative that seeks to build on this heritage and to stimulate and support research that transcends disciplinary and institutional boundaries. Here we feature some of the networks and programmes, as well as recordings of events, and offer insights into the research that they make possible.
Click Here >
University of Southampton Podcast Library
Podcast | Recorded Lecture
A library of the Lifelong Learning Talks and Study Days from the University of Southampton. They cover a wide range of topics but are organised by topic and easy to browse.
Click Here >
Springboard
Video
These videos bring you cutting-edge research from Oxford's graduate students on a wide range of topics - from climate change and colonialism, to microbiomes and mathematical logic. Each video offers an introduction to a new topic, plus lots of activities and further resources to explore. When you click on a topic, you will be asked a few questions and then you will be able to play the video you've chosen.
Click Here >
ExeTalks
Video | Recorded Lecture
ExeTalks are a chance to discover some of the fascinating research undertaken at the University of Exeter.
Click Here
HE+
Website | Podcast | Blog | Video
The HE+ website has supercurricular resources created and written by Cambridge students and academics including challenging activities, engaging videos, reflective questions and much more.
Click Here >
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