060106 VU Historic Images as Archaeological Source Material: Technical and Critical Approaches (2018W)

What can images from the past tell us about the past? What can images tell us about how their creators want the viewer to see the past? How can we use historic image material in our own research, and how can we understand the merits and limits of such material in order to understand the merits and limits of its uses? Finally, how can new technologies help us to extract and share new data from old imagery?
This course will focus on answering these questions, teaching students how to acquire, critically assess, and read historic images for archaeological and anthropological research. Methods discussed will include the critical analysis of sources, content and historical analysis, correspondence analysis, discourse analysis, and other quantitative and qualitative ways in which visual media can be understood and interpreted. This course will also examine ways in which new technologies can help us to extract information from imagery, and how they can help us communicate visual information to academic researchers and the wider public.
Students will get a chance to explore these topics and apply the methods discussed through interactive class discussion and group work, homework assignments, and the development and presentation of a project relating to class topics.
This course should help students to:
Understand how to acquire, critically asses, and interpret historic images for archaeological research.
Understand and properly deal with ethical considerations that may arise from the use of historical imagery.
Develop an awareness of the benefits and limits of using historical imagery in archaeological research.
Learn new methods for interpreting, representing and disseminating image content.
Method
Lecture, group discussion, homework