AAU Archaeology and Heritage Management Department

AAU Archaeology and Heritage Management Department

AAU Archaeology and Heritage Management Department – Check Below:
Archaeology is truly an infant discipline in Ethiopian higher education institutions though it is just now barely coming of age. The earliest known attempt to initiate a program in the field goes back to the 1960s, when the Department of History at Addis Ababa University (AAU) proposed a program in Archaeology. Consequently, the Department was allowed to offer archaeology courses to its students. In 1978, the Department opened an “Archaeology Unit,” which became instrumental in delivering various archaeology courses to its students in the non-teaching stream.
A practical response to the problem of training professionals in Archaeology was given in September 2002 by AAU when a graduate program in Archaeology was launched under the Department of History. The success attained at the M.A. level encouraged AAU to plan and develop the “Archaeology Unit” into a fully-fledged Department of Archaeology and Heritage Management. As a result, an undergraduate program in Archaeology and Heritage Program was initiated in 2009/10 academic year by enrolling 24 students. At the beginning of 2010/11 academic year, the university materialized its plan of establishing a fully-fledged Department of Archaeology and Heritage Management, one of the six departments currently housed in the Faculty of Social Sciences.
Currently, the Department runs both graduate and undergraduate programs, including a variety of courses in its curricula. Since the opening of the graduate program, trainees drawn from universities, research centers and Culture and Tourism bureaus, including a few self-sponsored students have attended the program. Our graduates are now engaged in higher education institutions, private business and in culture and tourism bureaus. Besides, 40% of the alumni are attending their further studies in African, American and European Universities. Thus, the graduate program in Archaeology has provided an important opportunity for students to do further studies. The Department aspires to be a center of excellence in Archaeology and Heritage Management in Ethiopia and the Horn.
Graduate Profile
Undergraduate program in archaeology and heritage management graduate profile
This field of specialization requires well-trained professionals who can understand and reinforce the profession as well as supporting the public interest in the field and take responsibility to create a dynamic institution. In view of this, the challenge for job opportunities lies in the nature of the training and courses offered by the new department.
Therefore, after completing their degree program, graduates will be able to:

• Work effectively as experts, planners, researchers, managers, and consultants in the areas of Archaeology and Heritage Management, Tourism and Hotel Management;
• Participate in and organize exhibitions and other related promotional activities at local, regional,  national and international levels;
• Document, record, classify and conserve antiquities and archival materials;
• Plan and advise travel agents and tour operators;
• Carry out consultancy services in the area of tourism, hotel and heritage conservation and archaeological research;
•  Organize, and offer courses for institutions in the fields of tourism and hotel operation, heritage management and archaeological research;
• Participate in impact assessment project plan formulation, implementation and evaluation activities;
• Understand and develop tourism resources.

It is also expected that after completing the program, graduates will be self-employed or employed by the following public and non-governmental agencies:

• Ministry of Culture and Tourism
• Ministry of Transport and Communication (for impact assessment)
• Ministry of Education
• Ministry of   Rural and Agricultural Development (for impact assessment)
•  Ministry of Mines and Energy (for impact assessment)
• Ministry of Works and Urban Development (for impact assessment)
• Regional Cultural and Tourism Bureaus
• Ethiopian Religious Institutions
• International organizations
• Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority
• Ethiopian Road Authority
• Environmental Authority
• Ethiopian Airlines
• Private organizations which develop tourism.

Graduate Program in Archaeology graduate Profile
Graduates of the M.A. in Archaeology will be able to:

•   Design archaeological and laboratory research projects and undertake surveying, excavation and analysis as per the requirements of the discipline;

•   Record, describe and classify archival documents, museum and archaeological objects;

•   Participate in and organize cultural exhibitions and promotions at national and international levels;

•   Work effectively as experts and conservators in the area of Cultural Heritage Management;

•   Design, organize and teach courses in archaeology and cultural heritage.

1. New (M.A program in Museum Studies)

New M.A program in Museum Studies (Museology)
Degree Nomenclature: M.A. in Museum Studies
Objectives: The program has the following specific objectives:
i.) to develop a multidisciplinary approach to Museum Studies.
ii.) to train scholars who can conduct research on Subjects related with Museums.
iii.) to respond to the human resource needs of universities as well as governmental and public institutions.
iv.) to promote collaborative research and module offerings with foreign universities.
v.) to train scholars who can teach modules on Museum Studies at institutions of higher learning.
vi.) to offer modules in Museum and Cultural Studies and the preservation and promotion of cultural heritages.
5.2.3 A graduate in Museology would be able to:

• Understand the literature in Cultural Studies and Humanities.
• Advise pertinent authorities in the area of cultural representations of ethnic groups, gender, class, etc.
• Teach and give lectures in the higher academic institutions, universities.
• Technically support institutions or individuals to use visual culture for development.
• Record Ethiopian cultures using digital materials.
• Help in the formulation and implementation of cultural and heritage policies in the country.
• Be a manager of cultural institutions.
• Raise funds for cultural intuitions.
• Design exhibitions and display material culture of the people.
• Identify, make an inventory, preserve and promote cultures of Ethiopian people.

Modules on Museum Studies:

No	Type of module		Size %	No. of modules	No. of ECTS	No. of ECTS 1 ECTS=25 hrs.
1	Pedagogy		10	1.0	7	175
2	Research Methods and Field work		10	1.0	7	175
3	General Subject Area		25	2.5	17.5	437
	3.1	Seminar of Ethiopian Studies	5	0.5	3.5	87
	3.2	Ethiopian Oral and written Literature	10	1.0	7	175
	3.3	Cultural Studies and Cultural Theory	10	1.0	7	175

 

4	Specialization Area (Musicology)		40	4	28	700
	4.1	History and Theory of Museum	15	1.5	10.5	262.5
	4.2	Development, Fund raising and Grantsmanship	10	1.0	7	175
	4.3	Museum Management, Collections and Exhibitions	15	1.5	10.5	262.5
5	Thesis/Project writing or Comprehensive Exam/options		15	1.5	30	750

 
Vision
The vision of the Department is to become a preeminent teaching and research institute in East Africa.
Program objectives
Undergraduate program in archaeology and heritage management
General Objectives
The general objective of the undergraduate program in Archaeology and Heritage Management is to train qualified professionals in the field of Archaeology, Heritage Management and tourism who can take the responsibility of properly documenting, conserving, researching and promoting the country’s diverse heritages.
Specific Objectives

• To train qualified personnel who are  committed to the discipline and who can address the needs and interests of the country in the field of Archaeology and Heritage Management;
• To train competent graduates who will be able to take up the role of planning, designing and executing heritage and tourism projects in various governmental agencies and NGOs;
• To produce qualified staff for  higher institutions;
• To help the development of  tourism as well as trans-cultural education by strengthening archaeological and heritage researches;
• To train qualified professionals for self, private and public employment in the field of archaeology, heritage management and tourism;
• To engage in public forums in promoting heritages;
• To train professionals who can pursue a career in the field of Archaeology, Heritage Management and Tourism in Ethiopia and elsewhere;
• To encourage students who wish to proceed to the M.A.  and PhD programs in Archaeology.

Graduate Program in Archaeology and heritage management
General Objectives
The overall objective of this program is to train qualified professionals who can properly document, conserve, research and promote the country’s heritages and use them for sustainable development and trans-cultural education.
Specific Objectives
Within the general framework of AAU and Department objectives, the program has the following specific objectives:

• To train Ethiopian students in archaeological research, conservation and heritage management;

•   To train qualified staff for Addis Ababa University and regional universities;
•  To produce experienced personnel who can be used for planning and implementation of cultural heritage management projects;

•  To produce professionals who can pursue  careers in archaeology in Ethiopia, in

Eastern Africa and elsewhere; and

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