CLASSICS 305: Post-humanism: archaeological perspectives

Course Description

What is the object of archaeological research? Do archaeologists reconstruct the human past? This seminar answers these questions by focusing on the concept of humanity. Challenging the radical separation of people and objects, culture and nature, values and objectivity, a post-humanist paradigm is about ecologies of people plus things plus other species, located in specific contexts. Sensitive to contemporary experience of this paradigm takes in techno-humanism that looks to the potential of technology to augment human capability, embracing the co-evolutionary entanglement of humanity and technology. Through archaeological case studies at the cutting edge of theory and methodology the seminar offers unique insights into a matter of common and pressing concern - just how are we to conceive of our humanity in times of runaway change?