MA in 20th Century Conflict Archaeology

20th Century Conflict Archaeology (PDF, 2.32MB) is a new and interdisciplinary study of conflict and its legacies during the 20th and early 21st centuries. It is a powerful response to the complexities of modern conflict, and radically different from traditional Battlefield Archaeology. Conflict archaeology focuses on conflict as a multifaceted phenomenon, whose variety of physical traces possess multiple meanings that change over time. It is not restricted to battlefields, or to large-scale wars between nations, but embraces every kind of conflict and its diversity of social and cultural legacies.

Conflict Archaeology combines the strengths of many different disciplines: Anthropology, Heritage and Museum Studies, Cultural Geography, Military History and Art History. This hybrid approach recognizes that modern conflicts involve an industrialized intensity, incorporate political and nationalistic motivations, and include notions of ethnicity and identity. Most modern conflicts are within living memory, and require sensitivity in their investigation and presentation to the public. Some sites have human remains, others have become ‘sites of memory’, and still others have developed into politically and economically significant places of cultural heritage and tourism. Beyond battle-zones, the objects and memories of conflict survive in urban landscapes - in museums, peoples’ homes, civic architecture, and as public memorials. All such places embody the experiences of conflict and its aftermath for civilians and soldiers, adults and children alike.

First World War trenches on the Western Front, the shrapnel collecting habits of Second World War children, prisoner-of-war and internment camps, 3-D artworks produced by Vietnam veterans, the wearing of war medals, the heritage of the cold war, the material effects of ethnic cleansing in the Balkans, the 2003 devastation of Iraq’s peerless archaeology, and the 9/11 destruction of New York’s World Trade Centre, and the subsequent ‘war on terror’ in Afghanistan, are all manifestations of 20th century conflict. Each possess a distinctive material legacy.

This unique MA programme aims to develop the student’s knowledge and understanding of the archaeology and anthropology of 20th century conflict – its origins and its legacies, both nationally and internationally. The programme introduces conceptual, theoretical and critical approaches to the broadly-defined field of conflict- related archaeological material, ranging from small personal items (talismans, souvenirs, trophies) to wider issues such as the formation and survival of whole conflict landscapes, seascapes and airscapes. Examples of these include the Western Front, the Atlantic Wall, Hiroshima, the Berlin Wall, Iraq (in both Gulf Wars), and the range of post-conflict commemorative structures, from abandoned buildings to war memorials, museums, and their place in the  burgeoning fields of cultural tourism and artistic representation. Methodological issues in archaeological, anthropological and historical research and the presentation of conflict-related heritage are also introduced.

The programme’s curriculum pays particular attention to the conflict archaeologies of Europe and the Middle East, though students will be encouraged to follow their own interests beyond these areas. Currently, 20th century conflict archaeology research at Bristol is being carried on in Belgium, Jordan, Sarajevo (Bosnia), and on Salisbury Plain. We are hopeful of future projects in Slovenia and Macedonia. Postgraduate students whose work involves conflict archaeology are working in Albania, Bermuda, Germany, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Jordan, and southern England.

Through five taught units, students gain a detailed academic and practical knowledge of multi-disciplinary approaches to conflict archaeology, and a sound understanding of the wider contemporary professional and academic worlds of historical and contemporary archaeology. Field trips offer students familiarity with the principles and practice of investigating (through survey, excavation and geophysics methodologies), conserving and representing conflict archaeological heritage to a range of audiences. Through presentations and research projects, students gain experience in researching and presenting conflict related material – sites, landscapes and objects. Through reading groups, students gain skills in debating archaeological theory and its wider relationship with conflict archaeology. An optional placement with an organisation working in the field of conflict archaeology will provide students with hands-on experience and an opportunity to develop their skills in a practical way. Currently, opportunities for placement are with the Imperial War Museum (London) and the In Flanders Fields Museum (Ypres, Belgium). Students will research and write a thesis on a topic of conflict archaeology, which will provide the opportunity to work with primary material and to make an original contribution to the field of conflict studies.

Core units

• Conservation of Maritime and Military Heritage
• Materialities
• Methods and Approaches in 20th Century Conflict Archaeology
• Anthropological Archaeology of the First and Second World Wars
• Dissertation (20th Century Conflict Archaeology)

Optional units

• Professional Placement for the MA in Conflict Archaeology
• Open Unit

Teaching staff

The programme is co-ordinated by Dr Nicholas Saunders, who has an eleven year research and publication record (including the standard work on the subject) in this field, during which time he has established himself as a leading authority in conflict archaeology. He is currently involved with projects in France, Belgium, and a major landscape study of the Ottoman Frontier and the Hijaz railway in Jordan. Professor Mark Horton will support the programme, with research and teaching on aspects of  maritime and industrial archaeology, heritage management and public engagement. The programme also draws on the expertise of a panel of internationally renowned scholars in various aspects of conflict archaeology.

The Department of Archaeology and Anthropology at Bristol is home to a young, exciting and rapidly expanding graduate school in archaeology.  Bristol has a strong community of international students in archaeology and anthropology: in recent years we have had the pleasure of teaching students from the US, Canada, the West Indies and Europe on a range of courses.

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Application information

For an informal discussion about this MA, please don't hesitate to contact the Programme Director (Department of Archaeology and Anthropology): Dr Nick Saunders (nicholas.saunders@bristol.ac.uk)

• Course fees
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• How to apply

For further information on life as a postgraduate in Bristol, visit the Graduate School of Arts and Humanities