Through lectures, open classroom discussion meetings on assigned readings, and seminar activities dedicated to reviewing multimedia resources, the course analyses the evolution of themes, methods, and perspectives in the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East from its beginnings in the 19th century to today and is organized according to the following structure:

- Introduction, Topic 1, 2 hours
- First Module: History of the Archaeology of Ancient Western Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean from the 19th Century to Today, Topics 2-7, 12 hours
- Second Module: Themes and Issues of Ancient Western Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean, Topics 8-13, 12 hours
- Intermediate Summary and Learning Assessment, Topic 14, 2 hours
- Third Module: Narrative and Communication, Topics 15-20, 12 hours
- Final Summary and Learning Assessment, Topic 21, 2 hours

An introductory lesson presents the structure and organization of the course and the geographical and chronological framework of the discipline (Topic 1, 2 hours). Subsequently, the first part of the lessons focuses on the history of research, introducing how the discipline has changed and evolved over time, both in theoretical and historical research and in field practice, with a look at themes, problems, and methods of safeguarding, protecting, and promoting cultural heritage in the regions of interest of the discipline (Topics 2-7, 12 hours). A second part of the course is dedicated to the presentation and analysis of themes, issues, and research perspectives that cut across the various branches of Archaeology and Art History of Ancient Western Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean, focusing on crafting knowledge and interpretation (Topics 8-13, 12 hours). Finally, a third part of the course is devoted to seminars presented by the students, centered on the review of multimedia resources dedicated to public presentation and archaeological storytelling of the cultural heritage of ancient Western Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean (Topics 15-20). At the end of the second module (Topic 14) and at the end of the course (Topic 21), there are, respectively, an intermediate and a final summary dedicated to assessing the understanding of the course , with open discussion and the opportunity for students to ask questions on the topics dealt with in the course.

In this way, the course aims to analyse: 

1) How the discipline and its narrative and communicative languages have evolved over time, and where certain needs for profound theoretical and practical revision (in particular the effort of decolonization) have arisen, which characterize the current phase of the Archaeology of ancient Western Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean; 

2) What are the main interpretative, methodological, and theoretical-conceptual issues in the field of Archaeology and Art History of ancient Western Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean; 

3) What are the themes, problems, and perspectives in communicating the discipline externally through multi-voiced forms, methods, and approaches that stimulate diversity and inclusivity, and what is the potential of outreach activities in those areas. 

The course aims at providing students with knowledge and skills completing and/or reinforcing those acquired in the first grade of studies, and to enable them to address original topics also in a research environment. This includes to make complex judgements, to be able to transmit the acquired knowledge and the processes through which it was gained, and to achieve independence in the study of the proposed topics. In particular, the course aims at providing students with the necessary methodological, conceptual, and historical-archaeological tools to understand topics, methods, and prospects in the study of the Archaeology and Art History of the ancient Western Asia and Eastern Mediterranean in the contemporary context.

At the end of the course, students will be able to understand the history of the evolution of archaeological research in the territories of interest over the past two hundred years and the transformations of the discipline in relation to the challenges of modernity (sustainability, inclusivity, decolonization) through the methodological and theoretical skills acquired; understand the open questions in the study of the discipline in relation to specific vocabularies, interpretation, and narrative; understand the open questions in the state of the art of each period; formulate critical judgments on topics and issues examined during the course; communicate the acquired content using appropriate terminology; formulate independent interpretive hypotheses on study issues of relevance within the geographical, chronological, and conceptual framework pertinent to the teaching and the discipline.