"Assembling the archaeology of the global Middle Ages" Topic

"Responding to recent developments in archaeological theory and growing interest in the ‘global Middle Ages', an approach to exploring relations between local and global processes in the medieval world is proposed. The World-systems approach, applied by some historians to these kinds of macro-paradigms and questions, can expose significant challenges regarding social and economic development at a global scale.

However, here it is suggested that the ‘assemblage thought' of Deleuze and Guattari, developed by DeLanda, might offer a more productive approach for assessing the multi-scalar interactions that defined the lives of communities in the Middle Ages. Here consideration is given to the character of the Middle Ages and its relation to modernity; the implications of the multi-scalar approach are also exemplified using a brief discussion of the Anglo-Italian wool trade in the Late Middle Ages.

Introduction: Medievalists working across a range of disciplines have increasingly sought to engage with the concept of a ‘global' Middle Ages. This concept is necessarily broad. It has emerged out of concerns with the practice of medieval studies in the modern world, and the need to overcome the Euro-centric focus of scholarship, to explore the medieval past in relation to contemporary global concerns such as climate change and economic globalization, and the realization that understanding long-distance connections is critical to building a rounded picture of medieval societies…."

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Amicalement
Armand

Peasant One: "Have you had any multi-scaler interactions today? They define the life of our community, you know!"

Peasant Two: "No, I've been in with the pigs all morning…."

Large Man with Dead Body: Who's that then?

The Dead Collector: I dunno, must be a king.

Large Man with Dead Body: Why?

The Dead Collector: He hasn't got all over him.

(big smile)

Amicalement
Armand