The undergraduate concentration in Archaeology and the Ancient World provides students with an opportunity to explore the multi-faceted discipline of archaeology, and encourages an interdisciplinary approach to engaging with the ancient world. While the core focus of Archaeology and the Ancient World at Brown University is archaeology and art of the ancient Mediterranean, Egypt, and the Near East, this concentration encourages students to reach beyond this geographic area, to engage with Brown’s many strengths in history, epigraphy, art, ethics, engineering, religious studies, and the sciences – to name just a few. The concentration, with its three distinct but overlapping tracks, is intended to allow students flexibility in structuring their own path through this diverse field of study. All three tracks begin with the same foundation. Students are then expected to experiment with and define their own areas of specialty, establishing expertise in topics such as cultural heritage, archaeological theory, or materials analysis, or in particular regions or time periods. The concentration is also designed to allow students to build progressively upon what they have learned, moving from introductory courses to upper-level seminars. It is expected that, in completing the requirements for this concentration, students will incorporate courses that offer new perspectives on the complex dynamics of social inequity, exclusion, and difference, and which encourage engagement with the community – both by enrolling in classes designated as Diverse Perspectives in Liberal Learning (DPLL) and through non-DPLL classes that explore similar themes. Research opportunities, through summer fieldwork, internships, museum experience, or independent study projects, are strongly encouraged.
