UNIVERSITY OF KENT
MODULE SPECIFICATION TEMPLATE
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The title of the module
Museums and the National Heritage, 1500-2000
The Department which will be responsible for the management of the
module
History
The start date of the module
January 2006
The number of students expected to take the module
2006, 15; 2007, 25 (including 10 SPS students)
Modules to be withdrawn on the introduction of this proposed module
and consultation with other relevant departments and faculties
HI603, HI604, after consultation with Classical and Archaeological Studies
The level of the module
I /H
The number of credits which the module represents
30
Which term(s) the module is to be taught
I or II (2006-7, I)
Prerequisite and co-requisite modules
For History, Heritage and Archaeology students (HHA), HI773/774, Art for
the Nation.
The programmes of study to which the module contributes
History, SH and JH
History, Heritage and Archaeology
Heritage Science (optional)
The intended subject specific learning outcomes and, as appropriate, their
relationship to programme learning outcomes. The module will:
1.
Provide a critical history of the emergence of museums in Britain and N. Europe,
within the context of a developing national heritage. This will enable students to
understand that the museum is not a neutral repository: that objects are usually arranged
to convey specific meanings, and that the place of the museum in western societies must
be understood as one replete with definite cultural purposes (History School Handbook,
objectives 1 & 2).
2.
Students will acquire the skills of the museologist and the art historian in
interpreting objects and images, at a variety of social and cultural levels (e.g. popular/
polite; private/public cultural expression; functionalist/symbolic readings). (History
School Handbook, objectives 1 & 2, aims 3 & 4).
3.
Provide a preparation for students undertaking the Museum and Heritage Work
placement, and a means of guiding students towards the choice of a work placement
appropriate to their needs and interests (History School Handbook, aim 3).
4.
Students will be enabled to identify their specialist interests and enthusiasms in a
large and varied field, and will become aware of the range of employment possibilities in
the museum, gallery and heritage sector. (History School Handbook, objective 5 & aim
3).
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The intended generic learning outcomes and, as appropriate, their
relationship to programme learning outcomes:
1.
Students will become aware of the scope of material culture studies in general,
including social/cultural history, archaeologically-based approaches, art history and
structural anthropology, in the context of a programme which provides a career
orientation towards the museum, gallery and heritage sector (History School Handbook,
aims 3 & 4).
2.
Students will develop the capacity to gather, digest and summarise complex and
sometimes unfamiliar material, and to present the results to a critical audience. This will
involve individual and collaborative work (History School Handbook, objectives 3 & 5).
3.
The module will provide a social focus for individual intellectual endeavour,
through seminar discussion and group work (History School Handbook, aims 2 & 5).
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A synopsis of the curriculum
The module will examine critically the historical background to the emergence of a
national heritage in England from the Reformation to the present day. The focus will
be on museums and the historic environment, and European perspectives will be taken
into account where appropriate. Major themes will include the history of collecting,
changing notions of cultural property, the place of collective memory, the role of
nationalistic expression in museums, and the conservation of the historic environment
(including buildings and landscape). Those students undertaking museum and
heritage work placements will utilise insights and knowledge gained on this module to
shape the outlines of their placement.
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Indicative reading list
J Elsner & R Cardinal
The Cultures of Collecting, 1994
J Greenfield
The Return of Cultural Treasures, 1989
E Hooper-Greenhill
Museums and the Shaping of Knowledge, 1992
K Hudson
Museums of Influence, 1987
O Impey & A Macgregor
The Origins of Museums. The Cabinet of Curiosities in
16th and 17th Century Europe, 1985
A McLellan
Inventing the Louvre. Art, Politics and the Origins of
the Modern Museum in Eighteenth-Century Paris, 1994
J Minihan
The Nationalisation of Culture, 1977
M Glendinning
‘The Conservation Movement: a cult of the modern
age’, Trans. Royal. Hist. Soc, 6th ser. 13, (2003)
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Learning and teaching methods, including the nature and number of
contact hours and the total study hours which will be expected of students, and
how these relate to achievement of the intended learning outcomes. There will be
illustrated weekly lectures, supported by a variety of xeroxed teaching materials
(handouts) (providing the basis for 11.1 and 12.1 above). There will be a 2-hour
weekly seminar, which will include brief joint presentations by students, indicative
readings, and occasional screening of televisual or film material (11.2 and 12.2
above). Total contact hours = 3 hours per week, over 11 weeks (excluding one
writing week). Students will be expected to undertake at least 17 hours per week in
private study for this module, plus the 3 contact hours.
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Assessment methods and how these relate to testing achievement of the
intended learning outcomes.
Assessment method: 60% examination, 40% coursework.
Students will write two essays of 2,500 words each, excluding footnotes and
bibliography. H Level students will have a separate list of essay questions which will
require an understanding of concepts and theory in material culture studies (e.g.
Foucault, Bourdieu, Habermas, the Leicester School of Museology) to a greater
degree than will be the case for I level students. There will, however, be a common
examination paper (Two hours, two questions to be answered). The examination will
test students’ ability to master a central core of information and ideas, and to relate
these to unseen questions (History School, Learning Outcomes, A4, B4, C2); the
essays will test students’ ability to write clearly and analytically, to undertake research
and critical reading in a variety of sources, including museum resources, and to work
to a deadline (History School, Learning Outcomes, A1-4, B1-4, C1-3).
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Implications for learning resources, including staff, library, IT and space.
No additional resources are required (the course replaces HI603). The course will be
taught by Dr. David Ormrod.
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A statement confirming that, as far as can be reasonably anticipated, the
curriculum, learning and teaching methods and forms of assessment do
not present any non-justifiable disadvantages to students with disabilities.
I confirm that, as far as can be reasonably anticipated, the curriculum, learning and
teaching methods and forms of assessment do not present any non-justifiable
disadvantages to students with disabilities.
Statement by the Director of Learning and Teaching: “I confirm I have been consulted
on the above module proposal and have given advice on the correct procedures and
required content of module proposals.”
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Director of Learning and Teaching
Date
Statement by the Head of Department: “I confirm that the Department has approved
the introduction of the module and will be responsible for its resourcing.”
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Head of Department
Date