Politics and Archaeology

Politics and archaeology may seem an unlikely combination, but both disciplines are ultimately concerned with how human societies organise themselves, how power is exercised and contested, and how the past informs the present. Archaeology recovers the material evidence of how people lived, worked and related to one another before written records and alongside them; politics analyses the structures of authority, the mechanisms of governance and the forces that drive social change. Together they give you a perspective on human social organisation that spans from prehistoric settlements to contemporary policy, grounded in both material evidence and analytical theory.

At the University of the Highlands and Islands this four-year full-time programme is delivered across a network of colleges and learning centres spread across the Highlands, Islands and beyond, which gives the institution a distinctive character and an especially close relationship with the landscapes, communities and heritage that make this region of Scotland historically and politically distinctive. You will study political theory, comparative politics, electoral systems, international relations and the policies that shape contemporary public life, alongside the methods and theories of archaeology, from survey and excavation to the interpretation of material culture and the ethics of heritage management.

The combination develops skills in critical reading, research design, argument construction and the ability to engage with complex evidence from a variety of sources. The Highlands and Islands setting gives your archaeology study particular depth, given the richness of the region's prehistoric, Norse, medieval and post-clearance heritage.

Graduates pursue careers in heritage management, museums and cultural organisations, the civil service, local government, politics, NGOs, archaeology and environmental consultancy, and education. Many go on to postgraduate study in politics, archaeology, heritage management or related fields. The degree is well suited to anyone who wants to understand how societies work and how their past shapes their present.