As part of the Spotlight-Programm funded project "Things with history(ies). Synergies between university teaching, science communication and museum public relations through digital storytelling", the Institute of Near Eastern Archaeology will be looking for ways to make greater use of storytelling techniques for university teaching in ancient studies at Freie Universität and to further develop the digital creativity and communication skills of students and teachers from July 2023.

The project is led by Elisa Roßbergerin collaboration with Valery Schlegel.

Events were also organised as part of the project: First round roundtable discussion and workshop in September 2023 and a second round roundtable discussion and workshop in November 2023.

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Project description

Archaeological objects carry many stories within them: as archaeologists, we can at least partially retell them by evaluating their material properties, stylistic features and places of discovery through comparisons and scientific analyses. Information on the production, use, repair, conversion, destruction and rediscovery of objects sometimes allows us to continue individual "object biographies" (Kopytoff 1988) into the present and to trace changes in meaning within human-thing relationships over long periods of time. Even incomplete finds, such as a shard of a vessel or a fragment of a clay seal, can provide vivid access to large and complex cultural-historical contexts. Accordingly, conveying archaeological content using stories about specific objects is very popular in museum public relations work, cultural education and science communication  .^[1]

The communication strategies and tools used in (digital) storytelling are also used in marketing and journalism and have now reached a high degree of professionalisation. The advantages of this recipient-orientated form of communication are obvious: thanks to the combined approach of cognitive and emotional reception channels typical of narratives, content is perceived more attentively, better understood and remembered than with a mere stringing together and reproduction of "facts" and doctrines. Digital means also create multimodal forms of storytelling that are available for longer periods of time and for larger user groups. Various online publications such as blogs, videos, audios, interactively annotated two- or three-dimensional images, maps, timelines, infographics, etc. are used.

This type of communication demands a high level of cognitive performance and practical skills from the storytellers, more than an almost verbatim reproduction of what has been read/learnt (cf. Salpeter 2005). In addition to an in-depth examination of the material, strategic and creative thinking about suitable ways of presenting it is necessary in order to achieve the desired combination of cognitive understanding and emotional involvement among the recipients. What is essential is a "common thread" that makes knowledge comprehensible as a network of relationships between facts and statements and at the same time provides surprising moments. This requires a deep understanding of the content to be conveyed, the ability to synthesise analysis and knowledge of the possibilities of technical implementation.

Well-crafted and scientifically sound digital storytelling is an effective communication strategy that can be used as a form of teaching and learning at universities. Not only lecturers, but also students should take on the role of the storyteller. The aim of the funded project is to develop strategies on how digital storytelling can be used at a high academic level and sustainably in seminars, colloquia and methodological exercises in ancient studies (with a focus on Near Eastern archaeology). From the multitude of existing digital storytelling methods and tools, those that are suitable for students with access to academic resources (specialised libraries, online research options, course content) but little (active) media and technology skills are to be selected and, if necessary, adapted.^[2]

The aim is to strengthen students' scientific, communicative and digital skills (data literacy), including the ability to critically analyse and continue to use existing digital offerings - skills that are also in demand in many non-university professional fields.

Ideally, archaeological storytelling starts with the examination of concrete objects. The Berlin museum world offers ideal conditions for such encounters, which can be complemented by exchanges with experts in areas such as curating, restoration and material analysis.

In addition, there are the dynamic fields of digital indexing and networking of cultural heritage collections, data visualisation and science communication, as actively promoted by various institutions and platforms in Berlin.

 

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[1] See the extensive children's and family programme of the Staatliches Museum Berlin (Kinder & Familien Angebot der Staatlichen Museum Berlin) with a focus on stories in the form of accompanying booklets and audio guides or the science podcast "Behind the Things"  („Hinter den Dingen“) by the SFB 980 "Episteme in Motion" at the FU Berlin. For world and collection histories based on object histories, see Neil MacGregor's "A History of the World in 100 Objects" (2010; also available as a Radio 4 podcast series) and the recently published "Die Berliner Kunstkammer. Collection History in Object Biographies from the 16th to the 21st Century" (Becker et al. 2023).

[2] Beyond educational programmes for children and schools, exhibition teasers or short popular science articles for laypeople, there are already numerous offerings in these areas.