Admission requirements
See M.A. Art History program guide and Exam regulations.
Description
Museums are powerful and influential institutions in their ability to shape knowledge through their collections and exhibitions. But besides being educational bodies of authority, they are also becoming sites of infotainment in their quest to attract and please the public.
In this seminar we will study the politics of museum practice in modern times through various themes which are connected to current issues and controversies. Questions, such as how museums contribute to our identity and cultural memory and whose voice is heard in the museum, shall be scrutinized. We will examine the politics and ethics of collecting and exhibiting in a wide variety of museums and analyze the changing position of the museum in a globalized world. Furthermore, the museum as medium will be studied and the narratives of exhibitions will be analyzed.
Course objectives
Students will gain knowledge of museum theory and politics of museum practice in modern times, and insight into current issues and controversies concerning museums;
Students will practice their communicative skills in weekly debates and in the presentation of their own reseach topic;
Students will develop their research skills in formulating a relevant research question and writing a paper on this subject of their own choice.
Timetable
See the timetable on the department website.
Mode of instruction
Seminar
Assessment method
Paper/essay (75%); oral presentation and active involvement in class discussion (25%)
Blackboard
Yes, for special announcements and required weekly reading.
Reading list
Will be posted on Blackboard.
Registration
Students have to register for this course in uSis, the registration system of the university: http://www.usis.leidenuniv.nl. General information about registration in uSis you can find here in Dutch and in English.
Exchange and Study Abroad students, please see the Study in Leiden website for information on how to apply.
Contact information
Email: Dr. N. Leigh
Remarks
Students will be expected to make frequent visits to museums in order to analyze displays and exhibitions.
In the specialization Museums and Collections of the MA Art History, this course focuses on contemporary practices of the museum as sites of knowledge production and platform of discussion and debate regarding issues of cultural value, identity and memory. It is compulsory for the specialization Museums and Collections. As a free component course it also holds value for the specialization Art of the Contemporary World and World Art Studies.