Material Culture & Artefact Studies MSc/PgDip
Cloth and Clothing ARCH5098
- Academic Session: 2026-27
- School: School of Humanities
- Credits: 20
- Level: Level 5 (SCQF level 11)
- Typically Offered: Either Semester 1 or Semester 2
- Available to Visiting Students: Yes
- Collaborative Online International Learning: No
- Curriculum For Life: No
Short Description
The archaeology of cloth and clothing is a growing and innovative area of research. This course adopts a technological and thematic approach to examine the sources of evidence, theoretical and analytical approaches and emerging research questions in this field.
Timetable
2 lectures per week for 10 weeks. The course may not run every year. The options running this session are available on MyCampus.
Excluded Courses
ARCH4063
Co-requisites
None
Assessment
The standard assessments for this course are:
■ Book review (1,500 words) - 50%
■ Essay (2,500 words) - 50%
If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available:
■ There is no alternative to the book review, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustments (students should follow the usual process for extensions)
■ There is no alternative to the essay, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustments (students should follow the usual process for extensions)
Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.
Course Aims
This course will provide the opportunity to:
■ Critically explore the key interpretive issues, research traditions and approaches to cloth and clothing in archaeology,
■ Evaluate theories of cloth and clothing,
■ Critically engage with the cloth and clothing of prehistoric Europe with examples from later periods and further afield,
■ Learn to identify and justify the interpretation of the principal technical features of cloth,
■ Confidently examine, and where appropriate handle, a range of relevant archaeological evidence
Intended Learning Outcomes of Course
By the end of this course students will be able to:
■ Critically evaluate advanced interpretive themes and debates in the subject,
■ Recognise and critically evaluate the key types of archaeological evidence for cloth and clothing,
■ Discuss chronological and regional developments in cloth and clothing technology in relation to specific case studies
■ Identify an advanced range of technical features of cloth,
■ Appropriately handle relevant archaeological material.