Mediation and Presentation of Cultural Heritage

The module examines how cultural heritage is interpreted, mediated and publicly presented across a range of contexts, including archaeological sites, museums, urban environments and digital platforms. It introduces key theoretical approaches to representation, authenticity and narrative construction and explores how this shape the ways in which tangible, intangible and digital heritage are understood by different audiences.​ Emphasis is placed on the relationship between scholarly interpretation, curatorial practice and communicative strategies, highlighting how decisions in design, text production and media use influence public engagement with the past. Through the discussion of national and international case studies, students develop an awareness of the social, political and aesthetic dimensions of heritage mediation and learn to critically assess existing forms of presentation.​

A central component of the module is a teaching week in Athens, which provides direct engagement with the city’s multilayered historical landscape. During this practical phase, students analyse diverse heritage sites, reflect on questions of visibility and absence in the urban fabric and experiment with approaches to communicating complex historical narratives to specialist and nonspecialist audiences. The combination of theoretical grounding and practical investigation supports the development of reflective, creative and contextsensitive strategies for the presentation of cultural heritage.