Admission requirements
Admission to the MA Arts and Culture: Museum Studies / Art History, research master Arts and Culture, research master Arts, Literature and Media. Students of the MA Arts and Culture: Museum Studies take priority.
Students of the MA Archeologie: Heritage and Museum Studies who are interested and who are not enrolled in the Master Arts and Culture should contact the Coordinator of Studies in order to enroll, only possible if there are places left.
Description
The role of museums in the construction of cultural memory, and thus in the (re)building of identities, has been widely acknowledged in museum and cultural studies. Although museums long presented a scripted, authorative narrative of the past, they no longer form the exclusive space for memorialisation. In this excursion course, we will study (art) museums and monuments in Berlin, in order to analyse processes and dynamics of cultural memory and identity formation. The unique historical circumstances of Berlin (World War II; Division and Unification) allow us to closely consider the traces these events have left in the cultural and artistic fabric of the city.
Course objectives
Students will:
Be able to critically review concepts important in museum studies, memory studies and cultural studies regarding museums, memorials and heritage sites.
Be demonstrably skilled in formulating a research question within the framework of this course, and putting together a relevant bibliography.
Be able to independently research a museological or art historical topic; to critically review the relevant scholarly literature and primary sources; to present research results both in a presentation (15 mins) and a written report (c. 5000 words).
Research Master students who take this course will write a paper that reflects the demands of the Research Master. That is, they will have to formulate more complex and original research questions than the MA students, include a critical positioning towards the state of the art of its subject, and produce a longer paper (6000 words excluding annotations and bibliography instead of 5000 words).
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
Seminar
Excursion
Assessment method
Assessment
Presentation on site (25%)
Research Paper of 5000 words (excl. references) (75%); 6000 words (excl references) for ResMA-students
Weighing
The final grade is the average of the two grades (25% and 75%) A student passes the class if the weighted average is a 6.0 or higher (marks under 5.0 are not allowed) and the paper is a 6.0 or higher.
Resit
The re-sit can consist of one or two parts: there is a re-sit for the paper (75%) and/or an alternative assignment (25%).
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Reading list
The Syllabus and Reading List for this course will be made available through Brightspace.
Registration
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website
Registration À la carte education, Contract teaching and Exchange
Information for those interested in taking this course in context of À la carte education (without taking examinations), eg. about costs, registration and conditions.
Information for those interested in taking this course in context of Contract teaching (with taking examinations), eg. about costs, registration and conditions.
For the registration of exchange students contact Humanities International Office.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Arsenaal
Remarks
The excursion to Berlin is mandatory for this course. It will take place in the first or second week of June 2024, and last for three days (excl. travel time). Students have to arrange for transport and accommodation themselves. There are no (travel) funds available.