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ARCH30920

Academic Year 2026/2027

Communicating Archaeology (ARCH30920)

Subject:
Archaeology
College:
Social Sciences & Law
School:
Archaeology
Level:
3 (Degree)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Dr Ryan Lash
Trimester:
Autumn
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

From Netflix documentaries to podcasts to conspiracy theories circulated on social media, public interest and engagement with archaeology – and pseudo-archaeology – has never been more dynamic or potentially toxic. Now more than ever, archaeologists must consider public perceptions of the discipline, confront the legacies of its colonial past, and strive to make research more collaborative, engaging, and accessible to broad audiences.

This module explores how archaeology is used and abused to make claims about human history, diversity, and potential. Through analysis of a variety of media, we will learn to identify and critique common stereotypes, misleading assumptions, and sources of bias in presentations of archaeology in the public sphere. Readings, guest lectures, popular media critique, and peer review activities will introduce students to science communication strategies and develop capacities to explain archaeological methods, theories, and discoveries in compelling and accessible formats.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

1. Recognize how archaeology is used and abused for myth-making to serve a variety of political and ideological agendas

2. Identify, critique, and counteract sources of bias, misleading tropes, and rhetorical strategies in popular accounts of
archaeology in various media (online, print, film, TV & museums)

3. Communicate archaeological research to diverse public audiences in accessible and compelling ways

Indicative Module Content:

Public perceptions of archaeology and archaeologists; Confronting pseudo-archaeology; Decolonising archaeology; Communicating archaeology to broad public audiences

UNESCO highlights a set of key competencies that support individuals in their development and support society in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UCD has adapted these competencies and is combining them with others to form a general framework of learning competencies. This module will help you develop the competencies below to the levels specified. 
Learning Competency Additional Information Level

Collaboration

 The ability to learn from others; to understand and respect the needs, perspectives and actions of others (empathy); to understand, relate to and be sensitive to others (empathic leadership); to deal with conflicts in a group; and to facilitate collaborative and participatory problem solving. Competent

Critical Thinking

 The ability to question norms, practices and opinions; to reflect on one’s own values, perceptions and actions. Competent

Self-awareness

 The ability to reflect on one’s own role in the local community and (global) society; to continually evaluate and further motivate one’s actions; and to deal with one’s feelings and desires. Competent

Normative

 The ability to understand and reflect on the norms and values that underlie one’s actions; and to negotiate values, principles, goals, and targets, in a context of conflicts of interest and trade-offs, uncertain knowledge and contradictions. Competent

Digital Literacy and Judgement

 The ability to access, evaluate, create and communicate information in digital environments; to engage critically, ethically and responsibly with digital technologies and digital information; to understand their opportunities, limitations, risks and impact on individual’s digital identities; and to exercise informed judgement in digital participation and decision-making. Competent

AI Literacy & Agency

 The ability to understand, critically evaluate and responsibly engage with artificial intelligence; to recognise how AI systems are shaped by human values; to assess their ethical, social and environmental implications; and to exercise human judgement, agency and accountability in AI-related contexts. Novice

The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


Goal Name Description Coverage

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all 1

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls 1

Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable 1

Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels 1
 

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

8
Small Group

8
Conversation Class

4
Project Supervision

2
Specified Learning Activities

16
Autonomous Student Learning

60
Online Learning

2
Total

100

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Lectures; Class discussion and critique of popular media; Guest speakers; Peer-review; Presentations of student work

NOTE on Generative AI:
Generative AI raises significant intellectual and ethical concerns, including its environmental impact, exploitation of workers in the Global South, and disregard for intellectual property. It also often fabricates non-existent citations, as well as content that is out-of-date or inaccurate. As such, large language models (such as ChatGPT) and AI image generators also represent significant challenges to public science communication and new frontiers for the propagation of pseudo-archaeology.
When preparing submissions for this class, you may choose to use Generative AI ONLY as a source of data on the role of these technologies in science communication and misinformation. Any text or imagery derived from AI must be explicitly attributed to the relevant software and subjected to critique. You MUST AVOID the use of generative AI to compose or revise text. Any unattributed use of AI is forbidden and will put you in breach of UCD’s Student Plagiarism policies.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade Component repeat (in-module) Offered
Assignment(Including Essay): Accessible Archaeological Writing (2500 words)
Produce a write-up of recent archaeological research that will be accessible and compelling to broad audiences of non-specialists.		 Week 12 Graded No
70
 No
Individual Project: Video Presentation (4 mins)
Produce a short video (in the format of a YouTube short or TikTok) that identifies and debunks a popular stereotype or misconception about archaeology or archaeologists.		 Week 5 Graded No
30
 No

As part of UCD's student support, under the Additional Consideration policy, extensions may be available for the following assessments in the module: Assignment (including essay/poster), Portfolio, Reflective Assignment, Report(s), and Individual Project.


Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Peer review activities
• Self-assessment activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Written feedback within 4 weeks after submission deadline. Feedback contains feed-forward details, which will help you think about how you could improve your approach in future assignments. The initial project will help you develop your ideas, and feedback from the project is intended to help you construct your final essay. In class peer-review of drafts of the final assessment will help refine your essay prior to submission. NOTE on Generative AI: Generative AI raises significant intellectual and ethical concerns, including its environmental impact, exploitation of workers in the Global South, and disregard for intellectual property. It also often fabricates non-existent citations, as well as content that is out-of-date or inaccurate. As such, large language models (such as ChatGPT) and AI image generators also represent significant challenges to public science communication and new frontiers for the propagation of pseudo-archaeology. When preparing submissions for this class, you may choose to use Generative AI ONLY as a source of data on the role of these technologies in science communication and misinformation. Any text or imagery derived from AI must be explicitly attributed to the relevant software and subjected to critique. You MUST AVOID the use of generative AI to compose or revise text. Any unattributed use of AI is forbidden and will put you in breach of UCD’s Student Plagiarism policies.

Name Role
Professor Joanna Bruck Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Dr Anita Radini Lecturer / Co-Lecturer

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Autumn Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Tues 11:00 - 12:50
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