Politics and Archaeology

Politics and archaeology might seem at first an unusual combination, but they share a deep concern with power: how it has been organised and exercised by human societies across time, and how the material traces of past societies reveal the structures, hierarchies, and conflicts through which power has operated. Politics examines the contemporary exercise of power through state institutions, parties, ideologies, and international relations. Archaeology recovers and interprets the physical evidence of past societies, reconstructing economic and social organisation, ritual practice, and the built environments through which power has always been expressed.

Together they develop an unusually broad perspective on the human experience of politics.

At the University of the Highlands and Islands, this programme is delivered part time, making it accessible to students who need flexibility in how they study. The University of the Highlands and Islands serves communities across a wide geographic area in the north of Scotland, and its part-time provision reflects its commitment to making higher education available in contexts where full-time attendance is not always possible. You will develop both political analytical skills and archaeological knowledge and method, engaging with the theory and practice of each discipline and with the ways they can illuminate each other.

Graduates are well placed for careers in heritage management, archaeological fieldwork, local and national government, community development, policy, and education. The combination of contemporary political understanding and historical depth is valuable in roles where policy decisions interact with historical and cultural heritage, as is often the case in planning, conservation, and the management of landscapes with deep histories. Postgraduate study in politics, archaeology, or related social sciences and humanities is also an option for those who wish to develop their expertise further.