Course Description and Goals
Maritime Archaeology is a profession that evolved intertwined with complicated issues of conflict, consensus and compromise between stakeholders. Amongst others, these included treasure salvors, recreational divers, terrestrial archaeologists, museum curators and nautical archaeologists with divergent ethical stances and practices. A background in these issues is a great asset for any student seeking employment related to cultural resource management in state, federal or private sectors.
A key component of the course is familiarity with arguments and legal cases surrounding high profile shipwrecks. These include a variety of sites like HMS Birkenhead, Titanic, HL Hunley, Central America, Atocha, RMS Lusitania, Bismarck and El Salvador. Students will use a shipwreck case study of interest to examine the legal, management and ethical issues surrounding its history and status.
A secondary goal is familiarity with past and current legislation, professional organizations, plus critical analysis of the implementation of ethical and management guidelines. These include, amongst others United Nations Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO), Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA), Advisory Council for Underwater Archaeology (ACUA), Register of Professional Archaeologists (RPA), American Association of Museums (AAM) and the International Congress of Museums (ICOM).
A third objective is to familiarize students with the crucial problem of funding and publishing underwater archaeology projects. We will explore ethical issues, like the sale or de-accessioning of artifacts, investigate currently available research grants, and examine innovative and ethical ways that professional maritime and underwater archaeologists have funded and published research.