Admission requirements
The course is open to students with Archaeological Heritage Management in a World Context as their first or second specialisation, and to RMA’s following the track Archaeological Heritage in a Globalising World.
MA students are expected to have followed the course Current Issues in Archaeological Heritage Management (or an equivalent alternative).
If you start your MA programme in February, please contact the lecturer before the start of the course.
Description
You will gain an understanding of the various aspects that need to be considered in the management of archaeological sites. This can be World Heritage sites, but not exclusively. We will look into the legal context, conservation issues, the values and interests of stakeholders (holistic approach), sustainable approaches towards visitor and tourism management, the social and economic impact on local communities.
During the course, examples of existing management plans will be discussed and evaluated and you will actively work on developing a management plan for an existing heritage site. It is an interactive course in which students will regularly discuss/present their progress, discuss solving issues and the challenges they encounter.
During the process, you can propose specific topics or challenges you would like to discuss with experts. This may be on conservation issues, on negotiating with land owners, on maintenance of a protected landscape, on inspiration for visualisation opportunities, on including local communities, etc.
Course objectives
In-depth understanding of various aspects of managing archaeological sites (protecting, interpreting and experiencing the heritage);
In-depth understanding of the dilemmas of managing archaeological resources;
Insight into the diversity of approaches and stakeholders;
Awareness of the relation with stakeholders and society;
Ability to reflect on ethical and social aspects of archaeology;
Ability to gather site-specific data and information and process it to construct a management plan;
Ability to analyse and discuss literature and to apply it to one’s own case study;
Develop skills to apply the above into a management plan (real world problem solving).
Timetable
Course schedule details can be found in the MA and MSc time schedule.
Mode of instruction
Interactive tutorials. The students get instructions and are guided in the process of gathering material and information that is needed to write (or revise) a management plan for a site. They are expected to actively gather and process the required material. They work in pairs and each team writes one management plan. Some guest lecturers will discuss their experiences from daily practice that relate to the management of (archaeological) heritage sites.
Course load
The course load will be distributed as follows:
28 hours of tutorials (2 ec);
20 hours of practical work (1 ec);
70 pages of literature (0.5 ec);
Writing a management plan (1.5 ec).
Assessment method
Gathering and processing information and applying it to the first draft of the management plan (50%);
Final management plan (50%).
All assessment deadlines (exams, retakes, paper deadlines etc.) can be found in the MA and MSc examination schedule.
Reading list
Literature will be indicated during the course.
Registration
Registration for the course or the exam is not required.
Contact
For more information about this course, please contact dr. M.H. van den Dries.
Remarks
Compulsory attendance.