GradCert Experimental Archaeology & Material Culture

Program Overview

The Graduate Certificate in Experimental Archaeology and Material Culture is a unique, online program that provides students with a comprehensive understanding of experimental archaeology and material culture analysis. Through a multidisciplinary approach, students gain the knowledge and skills necessary to explore the practical and theoretical aspects of this field, and to pursue further graduate studies or careers in related areas. The program is closely linked to UCD's Centre for Experimental Archaeology and Material Culture, offering access to world-class facilities and research opportunities.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

The Graduate Certificate in Experimental Archaeology and Material Culture (Online/Distance Learning) is a part-time, online, distance learning course designed to equip students with current thinking and professional understanding of experimental archaeological investigations of past societies. The program aims to provide students with the knowledge base, skills, and confidence to further develop their career in this field and to build potential for further graduate studies, research, and teaching.

Objectives:

• To introduce students to university learning in experimental archaeology and material culture analysis.
• To provide a multidisciplinary program of teaching and learning with modules in theoretical and practical approaches to experimental archaeology and material culture.
• To equip students with the knowledge base, skills, and confidence to further develop their career in this field and to build potential for further graduate studies, research, and teaching.

Description:

This program is the only Experimental Archaeology & Material Culture Distance Learning course in the world, offering a multidisciplinary program of teaching and learning with modules in theoretical and practical approaches to experimental archaeology and material culture. It is designed for practitioners, museum professionals, and motivated participants working in the areas of experimental archaeology, living history, re-enactment, crafts, and ancient technologies. It is also a CPD course for professional archaeologists in Ireland and beyond. It examines the nature of experimental archaeology, its key principles and achievements, and how experimental archaeology projects can investigate how prehistoric and medieval houses were built, used, and abandoned; how people produced, processed, and prepared food and drink; and how people used different raw materials, tacit knowledge, and embodied skills and technologies to make things. It also explores the relationships and changing boundaries between experimental archaeology, experiential archaeology, living history, and re-enactment. This module is taught through seminars, lectures, and practical tasks, and online/distance learning resources.

• ARCH41170: Material Culture (10 credits): This module investigates how we observe, describe, and analyze things, using the principles of object biography, chaine operatoire (sequence of making from raw materials to finished things), but also both practical and scientific analytical methods, artefact photography, illustration, etc.
It provides students with an in-depth introduction to the identification, analysis, and interpretation of archaeological material culture. It examines the evidence for production, making, and use, allowing for a more holistic understanding of material culture. The module introduces specific terminologies, methods for data capture, and some of the more common analytical techniques used by specialists and researchers, including microscopy, lipid analysis, archaeometallurgy, spectroscopy, and 3D modeling. Teaching is done using online lectures, videos, images, technical graphics, and practical demonstrations by archaeologists.
• ARCH41360: Ancient Crafts, Traditional Practices and Storytelling Today (10 credits): This module introduces the practical aspects of experimental archaeology and ancient technologies.
Students design and complete a series of specific practical tasks investigating aspects of past crafts and technologies, as agreed with the program archaeologists, and carried out in their own home place. They will make something and participate in the class in reflecting on a range of practical experiments on houses, stone/flint, pottery, organics, food & cooking, amongst other potential topics. The module is primarily assessed by means of 1) a Reflective Learning Journal and 2) a Portfolio, whereby students produce Blog Post(s), Podcast(s), or a YouTube/Vimeo video telling stories about their preferred craft or technology. Seminars held online during term will help students design, carry out, and report on their project.

Assessment:

• Projects, portfolios, and essays focused on key themes
• Oral presentations through Zoom/Brightspace
• Development and publication of Videos in Vimeo/YouTube of own projects

Teaching:

• Traditional learning activities including lectures, seminars, workshops, and group work, available through Brightspace
• Use of virtual teaching environments (Zoom or Brightspace Virtual Classroom) to enable UCD and other international experts to contribute to key sessions/discussion
• Practical demonstrations online using Videos, including synchronous ones, at CEAMC.

Careers:

• The program is designed to equip students with the knowledge base, skills, and confidence to further develop their career in the field of experimental archaeology and material culture.
• Potential career paths include:
• Practitioners in experimental archaeology, living history, re-enactment, crafts, and ancient technologies
• Museum professionals
• Professional archaeologists
• Researchers
• The program benefits from CEAMC’s distinctive Teaching and Learning philosophy, where there have been a range of innovative undergraduate and taught graduate experimental archaeology modules.
• CEAMC’s third activity is Public Outreach, Engagement, and Communications, whereby they communicate the research activities of CEAMC and UCD School of Archaeology to local, national, and international audiences.
• Students are expected to be actively involved in the communication of archaeology to the public.

Fees (for EU/NON-EU): €77.70 per credit (€2,331 for 30 credits)