HSPH8006

Digital technologies are significantly altering the speed and scale of the foundational
methodologies of archeology, history, and preservation. Moreover, they are shifting the way the
public engages with the past in cultural institutions and across the myriad screens that pervade
their daily life. In this course, students will not only learn how emerging digital technologies can
enhance their research, but also how those technologies are fundamentally transforming the
possibilities for the public presentation of that research.

This course privileges hands-on learning and balances deeping essential methodological skills
with exposure to a breadth of field-altering technologies. It is structured around five core
methodologies--excavation, documentation, reconstruction, interpretation, and exhibition. In
each unit, students will be first be tasked with identifying the underlying principles of these
methodological approaches. They will then use class time to explore technologies that extend
those methods such as high-resolution imaging, relational databases, text mining programs,
virtual environments, and content management systems for website building. Bookending the
course is a focus on effective collaboration--the foundation of successful digital projects--and
public engagement in an increasingly connected yet fractured society.

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