Archaeology and the Public

In this course, we will examine the ways a variety of publics learn about and engage with archaeological topics, including fictional media, science journalism, pseudoarchaeology media, social media, publicly-accessible sites and museums, public archaeology programming, and community-driven archaeology projects. We will evaluate the effectiveness of these forms of public engagement for teaching non-archaeologists about the human past and its inhabitants. Students will choose among a variety of projects that allow them to practice engaging with non-archaeologist publics about archaeological topics in a variety of media or formats. No archaeological experience required.