Undergraduate Course: Ocean Heritage (ARCA10113)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Ocean Heritage explores how cultural heritage linked to seas, coasts, rivers, and submerged environments is studied, governed, and managed in a rapidly changing world. Bringing together marine archaeology, heritage studies, international law, and ocean governance, the course examines real-world challenges such as climate change, development pressures, and geopolitics through global case studies. Students gain the skills to critically engage with ocean heritage in policy, practice, and professional contexts. |
| Course description |
Ocean Heritage explores the study, governance, and management of cultural heritage associated with seas, coasts, rivers, and submerged environments. Bringing together marine archaeology, and critical heritage studies, the course examines how ocean heritage is identified, valued, protected, and contested at local, national, and international scales. Through global case studies, students engage with key contemporary challenges affecting marine cultural heritage (including underwater archaeological sites), including climate change, offshore development, conflict, geopolitics, community justice, and the Blue Economy, as well as the roles of institutions such as UNESCO and national heritage bodies. Particular attention is paid to archaeological material culture and maritime landscapes as forms of evidence, exploring how ships, ports, coastal installations, fishing gear, cargoes, and submerged settlements are interpreted archaeologically and mobilised within heritage and governance debates.
The course develops a strong interdisciplinary skill set by combining archaeological perspectives with legal, policy, and governance approaches. Students gain experience in critically analysing policy and legal texts, evaluating heritage management strategies, and applying theory to real-world heritage challenges. Emphasis is placed on critical thinking, international cooperation, ethical awareness, and effective communication, preparing students for further study and careers in archaeology, heritage management, museums, NGOs, policy environments, and international organisations concerned with culture, sustainability, and the marine environment. Students develop core archaeological skills in contextual analysis of material culture, landscape interpretation, and critical use of archaeological datasets, alongside policy and governance competencies.
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Students must have progressed to Honours. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2026/27, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework:
1,000 word position paper or policy/research brief (30%)
3,000 word essay (70%) |
| Feedback |
Students will receive feedback on their coursework, and will have the opportunity to discuss that feedback further with the Course Organiser during their published office hours for this course or by appointment. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Define and critically discuss key concepts in ocean and marine cultural heritage, including archaeological material culture, sites, assemblages, and seascapes.
- Explain and evaluate the main legal, policy, and governance frameworks shaping the protection and management of ocean heritage at international, regional, and national levels.
- Analyse how global challenges such as climate change, conflict, development pressures, and environmental change affect marine and underwater cultural heritage.
- Apply interdisciplinary approaches from archaeology, heritage studies, and governance to assess real-world ocean heritage case studies, including questions of ethics, power, and decolonising practice.
- Communicate coherent, evidence-based arguments on ocean heritage issues in written and oral form, demonstrating critical engagement with academic, legal, and policy sources.
|
Reading List
Aznar, M. J. (2021). Maritime Claims and Underwater Archaeology: When History MeetsPolitics. Brill.
Boswell, R. (2022), Salted Identities: Biocultural Heritage for a Rehumanized Ocean Management in South Africa. Anthropology and Humanism, 47: 363-380. https://doi.org/10.1111/anhu.12402
Cooper, J. P., Ichumbaki, E. B., Blue, L. K., Maligisu, P. C. M., & Mark, S. R. (2022). When the 'Asset' Is Livelihood: Making Heritage with the Maritime Practitioners of Bagamoyo, Tanzania. Heritage, 5(2), 1160-1198. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage5020062
Dromgoole, S. (2013) Underwater Cultural Heritage and International Law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (Cambridge Studies in International and Comparative Law).
Henderson, J. (2019). 'Oceans without history? Marine cultural heritage and the sustainable development agenda', Sustainability, 11(18), 5080. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11185080
Henderson, J., Holly, G., Rey da Silva, A. and Trakadas, A. (2024). 'The Cultural Heritage Framework Programme: Highlighting the contribution of marine cultural heritage to the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030)', Oceans, 6(1), 1.https://doi.org/10.3390/oceans6010001
Henderson, J. (2021). Rising from the Depths: Utilising Marine Cultural Heritage to Create Social, Cultural and Economic Benefits in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and Madagascar: Emergent Findings. University of Edinburgh. https://doi.org/10.2218/ED.9781836450696
Holly, G., Henderson, J., Rey da Silva, A., et al. (2025). Heritage in the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) and Beyond. University of Edinburgh https://doi.org/10.2218/ED.9781836451358
Holly, G., Rey da Silva, A., Henderson, J., Bita, C., Forsythe, W., Ombe, Z.A., Poonian, C. and Roberts, H. (2022). 'Utilizing marine cultural heritage for the preservation of coastal systems in East Africa', Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 10(5), 693.
https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10050693
Paxton, A.B., McGonigle, C., Damour, M., Holly, G., Caporaso, A., Campbell, P.B., Meyer-Kaiser, K.S., Hamdan, L.J., Mires, C.H. and Taylor, J.C. (2024). 'Shipwreck ecology: Understanding the function and processes from microbes to megafauna', BioScience, 74(1), pp. 12-24. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biad084
Rey da Silva, A. & Holly, G. (2026), 'Heritage for an Oceanic Culture: The Essential Role of the Past in Ocean Literacy', in Kennedy, T. J. (Ed.). (2026). Ocean Literacy: The Foundation for the Success of the Ocean Decade, Volume III: Accelerating
Communication, Technology, and Global Initiatives. Springer Nature (ISBN 978-3-032-14476-8).
Trakadas, A., Firth, A., Gregory, D., Elkin, D., Guérin, U., Henderson, J., Kimura, J., Scott-Ireton, D., Shashoua, Y., Underwood, C. and Viduka, A. (2019). 'The Ocean Decade Heritage Network: Integrating cultural heritage within the UN Decade of Ocean Science 2021-2030', Journal of Maritime Archaeology, 14, pp. 153-165. Available at: https://oceandecade.org/assets/uploads/documents/JMA--Integrating-Cultural-Heritage-Within-the-UN-Decade-of-Ocean-Science-2021-2030_1567168765.pdf |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
1. demonstrate understanding of contemporary practices, methods, and debates in marine cultural heritage
2. demonstrate knowledge of different interdisciplinary approaches to the identification, protection, and management of ocean and marine cultural heritage
3. demonstrate awareness of ethical issues, power relations, and conflicting principles in marine archaeology, heritage governance, and international contexts
4. demonstrate recognition of the role of archaeology and archaeological evidence in shaping narratives of the past, contemporary ocean policy, and international relations
5. demonstrate transferable skills relevant to employability, including critical analysis, evidence-based argumentation, policy literacy, and effective written and oral communication |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Arturo Rey Da Silva
Tel:
Email: arturo.rey@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | |
|
|
University Homepage