Scientific supervisor: Francesco Iacono with the collaboration of Dr. Giulia Maria Marcolli
Period: January-June 2026 (lesson times to be defined)
Attendance: Both remote and in presence
Place: Department of History and cultures, Piazza S. Giovanni in Monte 2, Bologna
Admitted students: 8
Mail: francesco.iacono5@unibo.it; giuliamaria.marcolli@unibo.it
Aims
The relationship between archaeologists and the public has become a central concern of contemporary archaeological research. This involves both the process of engaging with communities, and the development of an effective communication strategy, a toolset that has become an unavoidable skill for fostering public engagement.
Through several sessions and individual work, this laboratory will try to provide students with a first introduction to these themes. Starting from recent experiences, the laboratory will introduce the techniques related to how to liaise with a community on the ground (through methods such as questionnaires, interviews and participant observation) as well as how to build up a communication plan on archaeological research (concerned with things such as how to choose the right communication channels – from social media, to podcasts, to more traditional channels such as print media ) with the aim of engaging with different audiences and raise awareness of archaeological research and related knowledge. As of the last point, students will understand how communication strategies work and critically evaluate the messages they carry and to which targets.
At the end of the course, participants will be able to create a communication plan for a specific cultural project (e.g., related to an archaeological site or a museum) and apply the learned social media strategy in a concrete way.
Program
The laboratory will be organized in a number of introductory theoretical lessons, some of which delivered remotely, which will precede an activity of primary material processing, to be carried out in person at the headquarters of S. Giovanni in Monte.
Suggested readings
Bonacchi C. 2012, Archaeology and Digital Communication. Towards Strategies of Public Engagement, Archetype Publications.
Clack T., Brittain M. 2007, Archaeology and the Media, Routledge.
Colombo M.E. 2020, Musei e cultura digitale, Editrice Bibliografica.
Giaccardi E. 2012, Heritage and Social Media. Understanding heritage in a participatory culture, Routledge.
Mandarano N. 2019, Musei e digital media, Carrocci editore.
Visser J., Richardson J. 2013, The Digital Engagement Framework [Accessed June 2022] https://issuu.com/sumodesign/docs/digital-engagement-booklet
Walker D. 2014, Antisocial media in archaeology?, Archaeological Dialogues, 21(2), 217-235. doi:10.1017/S1380203814000221.
Further texts, videos and podcasts will be added during the laboratory
