Finnish Maritime Archaeology through its Publications

A new peer-reviewed article on the character of Finnish maritime archaeology is out in Internet Archaeology! This article by Kristin Ilves and Marko Marila takes a look at the discipline in light of published works, and also makes available a bibliography of more than 600 works. The open-access article is available here.

The wreck of Osmo. Archival photo: CC BY 4.0 Finnish Maritime Museum

Perspectives in Maritime Archaeology online course

The online learning environment Perspectives in Maritime Archaeology will go live at the University of Helsinki this autumn term. The online course platform was done using ThingLink, and will be in use on the “Issues in Maritime Archaeology – Past and Present: PART 1” course. Registration is possible as a registered University of Helsinki student or through Open University for unregistered students.

Click here for the course teaser.

Long-term degree program success in maritime archaeology

In 2019–2020, a research project was carried out at the University of Helsinki on what factors contribute to the long-term success of a university degree program in maritime archaeology. The research was conducted in support of the maritime archaeology curriculum being planned at the University of Helsinki with inauguration in 2023.

The research was published in a monograph that reports the results of an online questionnaire and contextualises those against the global and Finnish development of maritime archaeology into an academic discipline.

According to the study, one of the most important factors to consider in degree program development in maritime archaeology is staff continuity. In small disciplines, even successful departments may be shut down after staff leaves or retires. Attention should therefore be paid to developing funding that enables long-term staff continuity.

Image: Jason deCaires Taylor, Dream Collector, 2009
© Jason deCaires Taylor. All rights reserved, DACS/Artimage and KUVASTO 2020. Photo: Jason deCaires Taylor