23rd May 2006, 04:26 PM
http://www.loadzajobs.ie/news_details.asp?id=1048
I think this should be the link to the original article which appeared on a jobs website in the careers advice section.
Apart from this, I'm not quite sure how to reply to this letter.
One point I want to reply to concerns the education of archaeologists in Ireland. There are four established departments, Dublin, Cork, Galway & Belfast, and one department in Sligo which has been running a diploma course for years and has begun a degree course. The university system here sees Archaeology as an Arts and Humanities subject, with the result that it is taken as one of 3 or possibly even 4 exceedingly different subject during the first year of an Arts degree. And, as in the UK, it is often seen as an easy and vaguely interesting option by many who will drop it after the first year of study. Even in third year, a number of those who remain in Archaeology are still taking it as a "cushion" against a more "demanding" or "acceptable" subject such as psychology, a language, or social sciences. There are very few options here for further study, mostly general Landscape MAs, m.phils/phd's if you know what you want to do, or even more general MAs suitable if archaeology is not your primary degreee. Aside from this, really there are virtually no choices. But in my opinion this is a reflection of the fact that there has not been a historical demand for more choice. As I said, there are 4 established departments, who between them have approximately 40 lecturers, and up until recently, i.e. the building boom and aftermath of the Celtic tiger, there simply wasn't the demand for practical, skills based training, because there were no jobs to utilise the skills in.
How and ever, this has now changed. In Dublin, university-wide restructuring is allowing for significant changes in departmental policies, concerns, research aims, and so on. Last week, applications were due for a post of Environmental Lecturer. In Cork, a new Professor is currently being chosen to start in the new academic year, which will also result in a departmental shake-up. Galway, I know less about, but if the new professor in Cork is appointed from Galway, it will also result in change. Sligo is focussing on more scientific approaches, but is still in its infancy. Belfast is separate, in that it is in the North and thus already follows British practices of teaching. The point is that yes at the moment, undergraduate degrees in Ireland are limited, and historically and factually based, rather than scientific. But this is recognised as a major issue, and it is being reviewed.
I'm still thinking about the rest of the points in the letter and original article, and will reply when I decide what I want to say...
I think this should be the link to the original article which appeared on a jobs website in the careers advice section.
Apart from this, I'm not quite sure how to reply to this letter.
One point I want to reply to concerns the education of archaeologists in Ireland. There are four established departments, Dublin, Cork, Galway & Belfast, and one department in Sligo which has been running a diploma course for years and has begun a degree course. The university system here sees Archaeology as an Arts and Humanities subject, with the result that it is taken as one of 3 or possibly even 4 exceedingly different subject during the first year of an Arts degree. And, as in the UK, it is often seen as an easy and vaguely interesting option by many who will drop it after the first year of study. Even in third year, a number of those who remain in Archaeology are still taking it as a "cushion" against a more "demanding" or "acceptable" subject such as psychology, a language, or social sciences. There are very few options here for further study, mostly general Landscape MAs, m.phils/phd's if you know what you want to do, or even more general MAs suitable if archaeology is not your primary degreee. Aside from this, really there are virtually no choices. But in my opinion this is a reflection of the fact that there has not been a historical demand for more choice. As I said, there are 4 established departments, who between them have approximately 40 lecturers, and up until recently, i.e. the building boom and aftermath of the Celtic tiger, there simply wasn't the demand for practical, skills based training, because there were no jobs to utilise the skills in.
How and ever, this has now changed. In Dublin, university-wide restructuring is allowing for significant changes in departmental policies, concerns, research aims, and so on. Last week, applications were due for a post of Environmental Lecturer. In Cork, a new Professor is currently being chosen to start in the new academic year, which will also result in a departmental shake-up. Galway, I know less about, but if the new professor in Cork is appointed from Galway, it will also result in change. Sligo is focussing on more scientific approaches, but is still in its infancy. Belfast is separate, in that it is in the North and thus already follows British practices of teaching. The point is that yes at the moment, undergraduate degrees in Ireland are limited, and historically and factually based, rather than scientific. But this is recognised as a major issue, and it is being reviewed.
I'm still thinking about the rest of the points in the letter and original article, and will reply when I decide what I want to say...