Unit information: Archaeology for Screen Media in 2012/13

Unit name	Archaeology for Screen Media
Unit code	ARCHM0064
Credit points	20
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Dr. Piccini
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Department of Anthropology and Archaeology
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

This Unit aims to provide students with awareness of different historical and contemporary approaches to the representation of archaeology in the media. It also provides a critical overview of audio-visual representations of archaeology and material heritage. The history and potential futures of the transmitted archaeological narrative will be considered in the context of current broadcast and other media industry practices. The Unit ranges from addressing archaeology in popular visual culture and contemporary art, to the use of sound and image in museum display, fieldwork and as part of public and professional archaeological discourse. The benefits, restrictions and implications of each approach will be discussed and students will become familiar with corresponding practical, analytical and theoretical frameworks. A facility for original research and an analytical engagement (drawing on both archaeological and screen media traditions of close analysis) with the politics, ethics and aesthetics of mediatised archaeologies; modes of production; audience reception and relevant, recent debate in the fields of archaeology, ethnography and documentary film will be expected outcomes. The Unit invites visiting professional and industrial teachers from the media and heritage industries.

• to provide students with awareness of different historical and contemporary approaches to the representation of archaeology in the media.
• to provide students with appropriate practical, analytical and theoretical frameworks for the understanding of a range of screen media forms that communicate and produce archaeological knowledge.
• to introduce students to cognate media forms that work with archaeological materials or frameworks across a range of sectors, from art practices to computer science.
• to provide students with an awareness of a range of industrial contexts for the production of archaeology for screen media
• to familiarise students with a range of industrial practices central to the production of archaeology for screen media, from pitch to proposal to script to storyboard.

Intended Learning Outcomes

• students will demonstrate understanding of different historical and contemporary approaches to the representation of archaeology in the media
• students will demonstrate a facility for original research and analytical engagement (drawing on both archaeological and screen media traditions of close analysis) with the politics, ethics and aesthetics of mediatised archaeologies; modes of production; audience reception and relevant, recent debate in the fields of archaeology, ethnography and documentary film
• students will demonstrate an understanding of the range of manifestations of archaeological narratives across a range of production sectors, from heritage to art practice to broadcasting to computer science.
• students will demonstrate an understanding of the range of industrial production contexts of archaeology for screen media
• students will demonstrate an understanding of the ways in which archaeological knowledges and the media industries are articulated through industrial practices such as the treatments, scripts, storyboards and audience analysis.

Teaching Information

10 sessions including lectures, seminars, workshops and site visits.

Assessment Information

Either: 1 x Essay (5,000 words)  100% Or: 2 x Essays (2,500 words)  50% each Or: 1 x Essay (2,500 words) and 1 x Seminar Presentation and write up (1,500 words)  50% each Or:

1 x Essay (2,500 words) and 1 x Practical Exercise and Critical Analysis (1,500 words)  50% each

Or: 1 x Portfolio of work, including but not limited to: oral presentation, review, treatment, script, production dossier, essay, critical analysis, festival programme, screenwork. Equivalent to 5,000 words and 100% of mark.

Reading and References

Barta, Tony (ed.) (1998) Screening the Past, London: Praeger Clack, T. Brittain, M. [eds.] (2007) Archaeology and the Media. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press. Holtorf, C. (2007) Archaeology is a Brand: the Meaning of Archaeology in Contemporary Popular Culture. Oxford: Archaeopress. Koerner, S and Russell, I (eds) (2010) Unquiet Pasts, Farnham: Ashgate Merriman, N. [ed.] (2004) Public Archaeology. London: Routledge. Shanks, M. Pearson, M. (2001) Theatre Archaeology. London: Routledge.