Admission requirements
BA Art History, Archeology, Anthropology
Description
This seminar examines the museum as an institution and a set of cultural practices. We will think about the museum as a site of ritual and a cultural and political battleground. Through museum visits, we will think about the ways in which museum architecture and exhibition design control the visitor’s experiences, and then switch positions and consider why visitors so routinely take something different from exhibitions than was intended by their curators. We will also ponder the ability, or suitability, of museums to speak to non-traditional audiences. Another of our themes will be the question of cultural patrimony and museums of ethnology and ethnic art in a post-colonial world. Finally, we will select a set of recent museum controversies and debate the merits of the exhibitions and the efficacy of the responses.
Course objectives
The student can demonstrate an understanding of key texts in museum theory and relate those texts to current museums and exhibitions.
The student has a grasp of major, current controversies facing museums and can articulate varying viewpoints and proposed solutions concerning them.
The student can apply theoretical constructs to real-world case studies in a written format.
Timetable
timetable 2010-2011
Teaching Method
Seminar
Excursion
Test Method
paper e.d.
oral report, presentation
guided tour museum or exposition
Blackboard
Blackboard is being used.
Literature
Will be posted on Blackboard.
Register
uSis
A la Carte
Contractonderwijs
Contact
Prof. dr. M.A. Meadow, or
Dr. M. Schraven
Announcements
This course includes an optional excursion to Munich, which will take place during the lecture-free period of the first term.