OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT 4: WHAT NOW FOR TITANIC?*

** Note: this assignment replaces the fourth assignment described in the syllabus. This assignment is due on Monday December 7^th. As this is the final week of class, no late assignments can be accepted. Please provide a hard copy. All the usual rules about appropriate citation of evidence apply - you MUST review the assignment guidelines on the course website and contact Dr. Buxton if you are unsure about anything.

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BACKGROUND INFORMATION

 

Archaeologists in a number of Atlantic and UNESCO countries are meeting to consider whether to nominate the site of RMS Titanic to UNESCO’s World Heritage List. “To be included on the World Heritage List, sites must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria. These criteria are explained in the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention…” (http://whc.unesco.org/en/guidelines/). The World Heritage Site operational guidelines may be found at http://whc.unesco.org/archive/opguide08-en.pdf and the information about criteria starts on page 20. If the nomination is successful, and all interested nations agree to its implementation, RMS Titanic will become subject to an archaeological management plan similar to plans in effect for monuments like the Parthenon, downtown Florence, the Great Pyramids, or the Statue of Liberty.

 

Naming Titanic a World Heritage Site would clearly affect the company that currently owns the salvage rights, RMS Titanic Inc. (http://www.titanic-online.com/index.php4). This company (or any US-based company) is already barred from dispersing the artifacts it has collected for profit in accordance with the R.M.S. Titanic Maritime Memorial Preservation Act of 2007 (and an earlier version of this legislation from 1986). If Titanic were designated a World Heritage Site, however, even regulated salvage operations would cease, and the ability of private citizens or independent researchers to visit the site would be strictly controlled.

 

The issue is dividing the public, with some arguing for in situ preservation without further disturbance of the site, others arguing for in situ preservation with active restoration, and still others arguing for aggressive salvage. Disagreement extends even to the question of whether the ship is deteriorating rapidly or whether the bow is likely to remain more-or-less intact for several hundred more years.

 

YOUR TASK: Write a 600-word submission to UNESCO explaining why Titanic should be recognized as an international World Heritage Site, with reference to the relevant criteria for nominating an archaeological site outlined in the operational guidelines. Your answer should not just focus on the historic significance of the site, but bring in other relevant concerns in a meaningful way – for example, the deterioration of the site from natural and human processes, and its unique status as a tomb or memorial.

 

Keep in mind that the salvage companies will be submitting a rival proposal, so you must explain and justify your position from an archaeological point of view. Give plenty of evidence that supports your claims about the site, and provide footnotes citing the sources of your information. Extra points will be given for insightful, wide-ranging research that makes full use of the URI library and research materials supplied in class.

 

RESEARCH RESOURCES

 

-      Start with the news, notes and articles in Archaeology Magazine. A 2001 article by maritime archaeologist Dr. Jim Delgado is a good place to start (find it by using one of the search programs in URI’s online full text database system) . General internet and media sources are also fine for this assignment, but acknowledge and be critical of the nature of any online sources you use.

-      Stand by for new material on E-reserve, which will be announced by email.