Books
Ethnic Identity and the Archaeology of the aduentus Saxonum (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2021)
Reviews and Endorsements of Ethnic Identity and the Archaeology of the aduentus Saxonum:
“James Harland’s excellent book makes a convincing and groundbreaking contribution… …His methodology, approach, and conclusions should be a game-changer. The book is beautifully written and clearly argued, respectful of existing work yet clear in its irrefutable critical analysis. Convincing and important, it deserves to become a classic, stimulating further research for years to come.”
“This book purses an unswerving argument, highly attentive to the epistemological detail… …the principal critique is both compelling and invigorating… …As DNA analysis gathers pace, the field will benefit from Harland’s exposure of the weaknesses in archaeological inferences of ethnicity in the material record of assumptions of its presence for the outset… …there is an erudite and imaginative argument, which I expect will find a more receptive audience than Harland imagined.”
“This monograph is a timely discussion of the reasons why heavy reliance on ethnic interpretations of grave artefacts (which has closed out substantial discussion of other interpretative possibilities) remains problematic. In critiquing the tenacious reluctance of some scholars to abandon this longstanding paradigm, James Harland’s analysis is both nuanced and balanced. The book’s prose is lucid and accessible, the argument is thoughtful and well supported with historical and archaeological evidence, and this monograph makes a most welcome addition to the field.”
Prof. Bonnie Effros, University of British Columbia
Interrogating the ‘Germanic’: a category and its use in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Ergänzungsbände zum Reallexicon der Germanischen Altertumskunde 123. Berlin; Boston: De Gruyter, 2020. (co-edited with Matthias Friedrich)
Reviews of Interrogating the ‘Germanic’:
“…[The volume] is one of the most important volumes published in the twenty-first century and should be read by all scholars working on the European early Middle Ages. It will, hopefully, lead to more careful enquiries into the past”.
“Overall this volume is an admirable example of a collection that is ‘good to think with’. Most chapters are well-pitched for an interdisciplinary conversation, and they provide diverse opinions on the usefulness of ‘Germanic’ that varies by discipline… …the collective contributions acknowledge the problem’s complexity and provide the reader with a variety of tools to find their own way through a thorny, and ever-relevant, question. This will be a useful volume for both specialists and those outside the field, and for those wanting a better understanding of interdisciplinary approaches.”
English Historical Review, 2022
“All in all, the volume is a fine reevaluation of a category—the “Germanic”—which has enjoyed a long shelf life, if a slippery one. ”
Journal of Germanic Linguistics 34:4, 2022
Articles
‘Introduction: The “Germanic” and its Discontents,’ in M. Friedrich and J.M. Harland (eds.), Interrogating the ‘Germanic’: a category and its use in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Ergänzungsbände zum Reallexicon der Germanischen Altertumskunde 123, pp. 1–18. Berlin; Boston: De Gruyter, 2020 1–18. (co-written with Matthias Friedrich)
‘A Habitus Barbarus in Sub-Roman Britain?,’ in M. Friedrich and J.M Harland (eds.), Interrogating the ‘Germanic’: a category and its use in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Ergänzungsbände zum Reallexicon der Germanischen Altertumskunde 123, pp. 167–188. Berlin; Boston: De Gruyter, 2020.
‘Imagining the Saxons in Late Antique Gaul,’ in M. Augstein and M. Hardt (eds.), Sächsische Leute und Länder: Benennung und Lokalisierung von Gruppenidentitäten im ersten Jahrtausend. Neue Studien zur Sachsenforschung 11, pp. 45–56. Brunswick: Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum, 2019.
‘Memories of Migration? The “Anglo-Saxon” Burial Costume of the fifth century AD,’ Antiquity 93, no. 370 (2019): 954–969.
‘Rethinking Ethnicity and “Otherness” in Early Anglo-Saxon England,’ Medieval Worlds 5 (2017): 113–142.
Conference Reports
‘Report: The ‘Self’ and the ‘Other’: Construction and Perception of ‘Otherness’ in Late Antiquity. International Workshop: Kiel, Christian-Albrechts-Universität, 23–25 November 2016,’ Bolletino di Studi Latini 47.1 (2017), 324–329. (co-written with Veronika Egetenmeyr)
Reviews
‘Neue Wege der Frühmittelalterforschung – Bilanz und Perspektiven. Edited by Walter Pohl, Maximilian Diesenberger and Bernhard Zeller.’ Early Medieval Europe 29. no. 4 (2021): 636–639.