Teaching Digital Archaeology as Public Anthropology: Models for Using Social Media & Technology to Move Beyond the Classroom

Summary

Higher education pedagogy and university administration are pushing technologies as a way of increasing engagement and contact with students, rolling out digital learning environments and handheld devices aplenty. This shift has been critiqued as a fad but can it be harnessed to address the longstanding goals of public anthropology and calls to decolonize the classroom? Embracing multivocality, diversity, inclusivity and collaboration is complex, and opportunities to teach in a way that moves beyond simply lip service are rare. However, the tools to begin training students in public anthropology are often already at their fingertips – in fact, many of them are already doing it. By integrating technologies and social media thoughtfully and critically into curriculum, we can contribute to better understandings, approaches and skills for future generations of anthropologists. Digital literacy training as part of degree programs can also be harnessed in pursuit of increasing accountability, ethical practice, civic engagement, and global consciousness on the part of students and instructors alike to frame sustainable relationships outside of the classroom. Based on experiences teaching undergraduate and graduate students in North America and Europe, this presentation will share successes, failures, and lessons in digital public archaeology that our students have taught us.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Methods and Models for Teaching Digital Archaeology and Heritage

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16383