Postgraduate Course: Collections: Theories, Practices and Methods (HIAR11093)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course combines advanced research training and practical skills development relating to the field of curatorship and collections. |
| Course description |
Aligned with the MScR Collections and Curating Practices this course is designed to prepare you for independent research, enable you to develop an in-depth understanding of the critical issues, debates and histories that shape the field, and offer practical training in skills relevant to curatorship and collections management. Taught by specialists drawn from across the university and including major national partner institutions, it addresses topics ranging from Writing around Collections, Curating Research, Engaging Archives to The Future of Ethnographic Objects. The syllabus prioritises direct engagement with objects, institutions and professionals.
Collections: Theories, Practices and Methods¿ will run fortnightly through Semesters 1 and 2. The seminars will encourage active participation and a range of formats will be employed including roundtable discussions with specialists drawn from partner organisations, debates and site visits. In addition two full-day workshops will give you practical training in areas such as provenance, conservation, care and collections management. The course will conclude with a student-led public conference examining recent developments in the field.
Course Outline
Semester 1
1. Introduction: Collections and Curating Practices
2. Full day Workshop: Introduction to Collections Management. Part 1: object handling, storage, documentation, security, insurance. Part 2: policies, accreditation. [1 day intensive workshop].
3. Inventing the Museum
4. Reading Seminar: Issues in Collections Theory and Practice*
5. Reading Seminar: Issues in Collections Theory and Practice*
Semester 2
6. Full day Workshop: Introduction to Curatorship. Part 1. governance, funding, finance management, risk, administration. Part 2. access, audiences, marketing, evaluation.
7. Reading Seminar: Issues in Collections Theory and Practice*
8. Case Studies Seminar: Anthropological Collections*
9. Case Studies Seminar: Musical Instrument Collections*
10. Case Studies Seminar: Scientific Collections*
11. Conference: Futures of collections, collecting, and the curatorial form.
*the content of the Reading Seminars and Case Studies Seminars will vary from year to year subject to internal and external partnership interests and current debates in the field
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of curatorial practices, concepts, research paradigms and research findings
- Demonstrate an awareness of the applications and implications of curatorial theories and research
- Identify, conceptualise and offer creative insights into key issues in the field of collections and curatorial practices, including the future shape of the field
- Plan and manage a programme of research
- Communicate with peers and with professionals in the same and other disciplines about your research in both written and verbal forms and using IT as appropriate
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Reading List
Terry Smith, Thinking Contemporary Curating, New York, 2012
Stephen Rand and Heather Kouris, Cautionary Tales: Critical Curating, New York, 2007
Thea Carolee, On Curating: Interviews with Ten International Curators, New York, 2009
Paul O'Neill and Mick Wilson, Curating Research, London 2015
Susan M Pearce, On Collecting: an investigation into collecting in the European Tradition, London, 1995
Jas Elsner and Roger Cardinal, The Cultures of Collecting, London, 1994 |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
The course will offer valuable opportunities to build transferable professional knowledge and skills, including advanced critical and analytical skills. Peer-to-peer communication, including working closely and creatively to deliver a project, is a key skill. Graduates will have a strong sense of autonomy and be prepared to establish or focus their careers in the creative, cultural and heritage industries. They will also be equipped to undertake further postgraduate research, such as a PhD, which is now essential to many curatorial and collections management career pathways. |
| Keywords | Collecting,Curating,Curatorial,Curatorship,Collections |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Neil Cox
Tel: (0131 6)50 2313
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Sophie Ramette
Tel: (0131 6)51 5739
Email: |
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