93153 - Archaeology, Media, and the Public (LM)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will have an in-depth knowledge of the relationship between archaeological research, cultural heritage, media (meaning both traditional and new digital media) and the public. They will be critically aware of the strategies of communication and dissemination of archaeological knowledge adopted by the various people involved in the job of dissemination and enhancement. The knowledge acquired will make students proficient in assessing, monitoring and reporting in the media on communication activities relating to archaeology and the cultural heritage.

Course contents

The perception of the public interest in archaeology has evolved considerably over time, channelled through different media employed to convey experienced knowledge and shape a common understanding of time and materiality. Being attentive and reflexive to issues of communication, narration and representation has become a crucial skill for contemporary archaeologists, not only to educate the non-specialised audience about the findings and specificities of the discipline but also as an incidental methodological and source of theoretical inspiration that can transform the social impact of a scientific project by fostering interdisciplinarity, community engagement, and policymaking. This course will provoke students to reflect on the ethical and political dimensions of archaeology in contemporary societies, the fast-growing challenges and opportunities posited by the introduction of digital technologies for the sharing and co-creation of archaeological narratives, and the multiple scales of imagination that compose critical heritage practices. 

Readings/Bibliography

A complete schedule of required and suggested readings for each session is available on Virtuale.

 

Teaching methods

Each seminar will be one hour of frontal lesson and one hour of students' discussion. The Laboratory of critical heritage imagination will facilitate the preparation of the individual/group work to be presented during the last module. Students are encouraged to actively engage in the discussions and agree with the course coordinator on the topic of the individual/group work, as well as the theme of the final paper to be submitted for assessment. 

Assessment methods

The final grade will take into account active participation in seminar discussion (20%), individual/group presentation (powerpoint, videoessay, photographic installation) (30%), and individual paper (50%). The ability to draw connections with topics from other courses in the degree programme and the ability to identify relevant bibliography from the information provided in the course will be positively assessed, as well as the clarity and coherence of the critical analysis required for both the oral presentation/exposition and the final written assignment.

Teaching tools

Frontal lessons, power point; audiovisual sources

Office hours

See the website of Francesco Orlandi Barbano