03/12/2024
RIP SHORTCOURSES
We are sad and disappointed to inform you that we can no longer offer our zooarchaeology shortcourses, as a consequence of a demand from the University of Sheffield management.
We started our zooarchaeology-related shortcourses in 2011. Since then, we have run 29 courses and brought around 600-700 people to the University. One of the ideas behind these shortcourses was to open the door of the University to the world community and we have achieved that with great success. The University is often accused of being exclusive, but we have shown that it doesn’t have to be.
As a consequence of the popularity of our shortcourses, the reputation of our lab, team and former Department has been greatly enhanced. We have been humbled by their popularity, which has gone well-beyond our initial expectations. They have contributed to the perception of Sheffield as one of the core places in the world where to learn and practice zooarchaeology.
Recently, we have been told to stop doing what we are internationally renowned for because our short courses are considered, financially, insufficiently profitable and our efforts are better directed towards recruiting new Masters students from among the large cohort of undergraduates that the School of Biosciences boasts. However, our shortcourses only brought financial benefits to the university and, most importantly, provided an opportunity for the university to engage with the wider community and show itself in its best collegial, collaborative and supportive role. We are concerned that the demise of our shortcourses will be linked with the closure of the Department of Archaeology, while our efforts are currently focused on keeping elements of archaeology alive within the parameters of other disciplines (biology and history).
We would love to tell you that this is temporary but it is looking unlikely at this stage. The only hope would be for the university to entirely change its attitude and policies, to remember that they are first and foremost a place of learning with civic responsibility. Nonetheless, please be reassured that our zooarch team is still alive and as keen as ever to support, exchange and collaborate. We have overcome formidable obstacles in the past and we will do our best to continue doing so in the future. More than ever we need to feel the warmth of our friends from around the world and to continue working with them in these challenging times for education, culture, and archaeology.
