| Unit name | Museums and Heritage: Critical Perspectives |
|---|---|
| Unit code | ARCHM0076 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Were |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of Anthropology and Archaeology |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Museums were once understood as dusty mausoleums but are now some of the most creative and exploratory public spaces. This unit introduces interdisciplinary perspectives on the museum and heritage: from museum origins and the growth of heritage, to their social function in contemporary society. It covers diverse contexts and perspectives through which the museum and heritage can be understood in anthropology and archaeology, from issues of power and knowledge to social agents and contact zones. It explores various themes raised by museums and heritage sites including: communities and participation, architecture and branding, cultural rights and property, memory and repatriation, and the rise of digital culture. The unit includes site visits and some film screenings.
Aims:
1 Introduce the field of critical museum and heritage studies as an interdisciplinary area of study
2 Explore the various definitions and typologies of museums and heritage
3 Examine the historical context of museums and the heritage
4 Provide an understanding of the theoretical approaches to the functions of museums and heritage sites
5 Compare and contrast different approaches to museums and heritage sites through case studies and visits
6 Analyse and assess critically advances in museum and heritage research
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
1. Understand how museums and heritage can be engaged with from an anthropological perspective;
2. Critically explore and engage with the civic and technical functions of museums and heritage sites, and situate this in expanded political, historical and social trajectories;
3. Understand how the historical development of museums and growth in heritage links to wider social transformations;
4. Critically assess the various theoretical approaches to the functions of museums and heritage sites and select and engage with methodological tools of analysis;
5. Work with a corpus of relevant case studies relating to museums and heritage, nationally and internationally;
6. Analyse and assess critically advances in museum and heritage research by undertaking literature reviews and bibliographic searches.
Weekly lecture slots supported by self-directed activities
2 x half-day (on site or self-guided) fieldtrips
One essay and one analysis (mid semester and end of semester)
Mid semester Analysis of Museum or Heritage site: 1000-word essay (30%) ILOs 1, 2, 4,5
End of semester Essay: 4000-word essay (70%) ILOs 3, 5, 6
Byrne, D. 2014. Counterheritage. London: Routledge
Crooke, E.M. 2007. Museums and Community: Ideas, Issues and Challenges. Abingdon: Routledge
Dudley, S. H. (ed.) Museum Materialities: Objects, Engagements, Interpretations. London: Routledge,
Golding, V. and W. Modest (eds.) 2013. Museums and Communities: Curators, Collections and Collaboration. London: Bloomsbury
Karp, I. et al (eds.) 2006. Museum Frictions: Public Cultures/Global Transformations. Durham, NC: Duke University Press
Kreps, C. 2003. Liberating Culture: Cross-cultural Perspectives on Museums, Curation and Heritage Preservation. London: Routledge
Lowenthal, D. 1985. The Past is a Foreign Country. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Meskell, L. 2015. (eds.) Global Heritage: A Reader. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell
Peers, L. & Brown, A.K. (eds). 2003. Museums and Source Communities: A Routledge Reader. London: Routledge
Silverman, R. A. (ed.) 2015. Museum as Process: Translating Local and Global Knowledges. Oxford: Routledge.
Stanley, N. (ed.) 2007. The Future of Indigenous Museums: Perspectives from the Southwest Pacific. Oxford: Berghahn
Were, G. and J C H King (eds) Extreme Collecting, Oxford: Berghahn
