Modules in Museum, Gallery and Heritage Studies
- Art Museum and Gallery Education
- Art Museum and Gallery Studies
- Heritage Education and Interpretation
- Heritage Management
- Museum Studies - compulsory specialist module
- Museum Studies - elective specialist modules
Generic Compulsory Modules
Students on all six Masters programmes come together initially to take three compulsory modules. This feature of the course ensures that students obtain a comprehensive vision of the Museum, Gallery and Heritage sector, and a better understanding of how their specialised interests fit into the growing cultural arena. All students are also required to take the Work Placement module. MA students in all programmes also complete a Dissertation.
Issues and Ideas (ICS8001, 20 credits, Autumn Term)
This introductory module takes an overview of the cultural and heritage sector, examining the history and development of philosophical approaches to the concepts of culture, heritage, art and the museum. It addresses several key issues of concern, including representation, cultural identity, ownership of the past, politics, ethics, controversy, access, inclusion, and cultural policy.
Management (ICS8002, 20 credits, Autumn Term)
All practitioners in the heritage and museum sector need to recognise good management, and have some basic but practical tools that they can use. The module provides an overview of organisations and agencies responsible for the management of heritage, and examines legal frameworks, including the World Heritage Convention. It includes sessions relating to mission statements and strategic planning; professional standards and codes of conduct; governance; legal obligations; motivation and leadership; workforce development and training; staff recruitment; equal opportunities; working with volunteers; financial management; project planning; and sustainable development.
Communication and Interpretation (ICS8003, 20 credits, Autumn Term)
This module addresses the characteristics of the audiences for museums, galleries and heritage sites, and examines the diverse ways in which facts and ideas are communicated to them. Emphasis is placed on interpretation as a form of communication, and how it can increase visitor enjoyment and aid site conservation. The module includes sessions on audience development; interpretive strategies and techniques; communication devices; exhibition design; the role of the designer, text and labelling, information technology, ethics and exhibitions; evaluation of exhibitions and interpretive provision, first and third person interpretation; events and activities; and interpretive strategies.
Museum Gallery and Heritage Placement (ICS8015, 20 credits, Spring Term)
All students, no matter which programme they are taking, and whether part-time or full time, are required to undertake the Work Placement module.
Placements are organised by the ICCHS Placement Manager, who works with students from their arrival in September to find the most suitable, productive and practical venue. While every effort will be made to meet the student's first work placement choice, this will be dependent upon availability of suitable projects and adequate supervision at the various venues. Find out more about work placements.
Dissertation (ICS8099, 60 credits, Summer Term)
All students undertaking a Masters programme have to complete a dissertation of 12-15,000 words with the support of a dissertation supervisor. The dissertation provides an opportunity for a sustained piece of research that relates to the issues raised during the taught modules of the programme. Individual tutorials are held with students from January onwards to discuss the choice of topic, and continual support and guidance is provided in relation to methodologies, analysis and presentation.
The range of research topics chosen by students has been considerable, covering areas as diverse as history and development of individual museums and collectors, the interpretive role of botanic gardens, museums and multiculturalism in Amsterdam, storytelling as an interpretive medium, the repatriation of human remains, intellectual access audits in art galleries - and many more.
The dissertation forms a significant part (one-third) of the assessment for all six Masters programmes. Comprehensive guidance is given regarding the demands of the dissertation, and students are asked to produce a detailed document outlining their research ideas, with stated aims and objectives, and a preliminary bibliography, before going on Work Placement. This allows guidance to be given and problems discussed at an early stage.
Work-based Placement (ICS8015/16/17, 80 credits, 42 weeks)
All MPrac students are required to take this module in the second year of their study. The module is designed to enable students develop many of the so-called cognitive and key skills required by employers in their sector. These skills include the ability to reason critically, to work in teams, to be adaptable and to be able to present their ideas clearly and succinctly both orally and in a variety of written forms. The module involves a 36-week long work placement in a museum, gallery or heritage organisation and the opportunity to develop your practice with the input of an academic and a work-placement mentor.
Work-based Project (ICS8098, 40 Credits, Spring Term)
This module is taken as part of the Post-Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies. The aim of this module is to provide an opportunity for a sustained piece of research that relates to a specific museological problem or issue in the student's working environment, (which will normally be a museum or art gallery). Students in thsi module will have the opportunity to develop general research techniques, engage with museological research, understand and use methodologies pertinent to the museum and gallery working environmen, and achieve a research project that relates to a genuine, practical museological problem.
Specialised Modules
A range of specialised modules are available according to programmes of study and students' interests.
Art Museum and Gallery Education
Art Museum & Gallery Education 1 (ICS8022, 20 credits, Spring Term)
This module is essentially concerned with 'education' as it is understood by visual arts institutions and practices. It maps out and guides students through the myriad of ways by which galleries and art museums seek to engage, fascinate and occasionally even, to antagonise their visitors. It considers the shifting assumptions about art's functions and purposes and creates a critical context for the exploration of current models of educational practice in galleries and art museums. Inviting students to question and reflect upon the assumptions commonly underlying educational practices in galleries and art museums, it also shows how changes in visual art practices can directly affect the ways in which viewers are expected to engage in gallery and art museum education programmes. It provides guidance on how to plan, organise, manage and assess educational programmes and equips students with the basic knowledge and information necessary to develop their own educational events and programming strategies.
Art Museum & Gallery Education 2 (ICS8023, 20 credits, Spring Term)
This module explores new directions for art museum and gallery educational programming. Drawing on the issues and practices mapped out in Art Museum & Gallery Education 1, this module develops earlier themes in light of the future/fate of education practices after the (so-called) 'end of art'. It asks if, in their responses to new challenges, galleries and art museums are redefining educational functions and re-drawing educational parameters. It investigates the collapsing boundaries between 'educational' and 'curatorial' practices and explores the ethical concerns raised by 'controversial' educational strategies. It considers also, how the knowledge and creative economies might be expected to influence different kinds of educational practices in art museums and galleries in the future – exploring the possibilities for e-learning, web-casting, the digitisation of educational sources and the drive to create new 'research' opportunities for artists.
A key feature of this module is that students are asked to work on a 'real’ education project. This year, students will be using resources offered by the BALTIC Learning Team to plan, organise and deliver an educational event.
Art Museum and Gallery Studies
Art Curatorship 1 (ICS8005, 20 credits, Spring Term)
This is the first module of the specialist part of the Art Museum and Gallery Studies programme; it focuses specifically on art galleries and art museums. Philosophical, theoretical and practical aspects already introduced are examined in detail within the context of gallery and art museum practice. Students are encouraged to think about, and to question, the theoretical and intellectual constructs and conventions within which art curatorship takes place and which – as a discursive and dialectic medium – it promotes. In this way students are expected to develop a reflexive and critically aware way of working. The module looks at the nature of selection and display in the art museum and gallery context and how this relates to art history and theory. It also looks broadly at the perceived roles of art collections with respect to audiences and in terms of policy making at all levels. This module also involves a strong element of practical collections management: students learn about conservation standards and working with conservators and have the opportunity to work with objects from the collection of the Hatton Gallery in order to develop art curatorship skills such as the identification, description and documentation of art objects as well as object-based research and developing catalogue entries.
Art Curatorship 2 (ICS8006, 20 credits, Spring Term)
This module is about creating art exhibitions. It examines the procedures of creating and marketing exhibitions of both historical and contemporary art, the typological approaches that are used and the practical issues associated with commissioning art work. It examines exhibition criticism, encouraging students to take critical approaches to art exhibitions, and looks at how art is used for informal and formal education. The principal feature of this module is that students are asked to create an exhibition, using the resources of the Hatton Gallery; this involves carrying out research, selecting objects and sometimes sourcing new works, writing text and associated material, devising supporting events and education activities and effectively marketing the exhibition.
This module can be taken as an option by Museum Studies students who have an appropriate art background. This must be agreed in advance with the module leader. However, please note that for practical reasons there is a limit to the number of students who can take the module and Art Museum and Gallery Studies students will be given priority.
Heritage Education and Interpretation
Heritage, Education and Interpretation 1 (ICS8035, 20 credits, Spring Term)
The module considers heritage and interpretation in its widest sense against the different types of heritage resources that can be interpreted and the various media that a heritage or museum practitioner may use. From the outset, the media with which heritage professionals may have to engage with are divided into broad areas. These are: 1) the ‘mass media’ used to cover events and news; and, 2) the ‘interpretive media’ used to communication and interpret information associated with various actual tangible and intangible heritage resources (which can be seen as media in their own right needing interpretation). With the mass media, heritage professionals will have to understand how to make the best use of journalistic and newsworthy opportunities. They need to understand how the press, popular publications, radio, television and new technologies work in relation to communicating news and events and how these can be used to benefit their institutions, organisations or agencies. Secondly, heritage professionals need to know how to interpret the tangible (including the range from immovable cultural landscapes and built environments, through to movable artefacts) and the intangible (including aspects like belief systems, language, song, dance, ritual and traditional craft skills) heritage resources themselves. Linked to this, heritage professionals need to know which ‘interpretive media’ are the most appropriate and effective in terms of communicating associated information to the end-users and visitors. In the latter, it is important to understand the issues and values related to the use of 1) exhibition media; 2) aurally and orally recorded material; 3) documentary film; 4) live interpretation; 5) supportive learning materials; and 6) new technologies.
Heritage Education and Interpretation 2 (ICS8035, 20 credits, Spring Term)
This module focuses on two of the main users of heritage interpretation production and products. These are tourists and learners. Although these two types of users are not mutually exclusive, they will be considered separately in terms of the particular issues and practices related to tourism and education. The first part of the module will study the sometimes controversial and always delicate relationship between heritage and tourism. It examines: the growth of the tourism industry; the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats offered and posed by tourism to the 'heritage industry'; the differing communication and interpretation needs of local, national and international tourists; how tourism strategies impact on heritage interpretation; and, the relationship between tourism and the survival and maintenance of heritage resources. These issues are explored using case studies from around the world. The second part explores the theories and practices related to heritage learning and education and their relationship to contemporary society, tracing the history of 'education' within the framework of heritage and mainstream education. With an understanding of the different theories and approaches to learning, it will look at the different types of learners who make use of heritage. These range widely and include casual visitors through formal school groups to adult and life-long learners. The module will consider how different heritage organisations and agencies engage with the processes of learning and education. This latter part will be based on case studies. The module will also consider the theoretical and practical elements of designing learning activities, sessions, and programmes.
This module can be also taken as an option by Museum Studies students.
Heritage Management
Heritage Management 1 (ICS8024, 20 credits, Spring Term)
This module introduces the variety of forms that heritage resources can take. It considers the different values ascribed to these heritage resources and charts how heritage has been managed historically in different geographical contexts. It introduces the main philosophical principles and theoretical and conceptual approaches to heritage management and how these have influenced, and have been influenced by, the development of international conventions, national legislation and policy formulation.
Heritage Management 2 (ICS8025, 20 credits, Spring Term)
This module covers a variety of key issues related to the practice and processes of heritage management. It considers the different challenges and opportunities faced by heritage managers in the field in different contexts, including the differences between managing resources in urban and rural contexts, and how best to respond to these. It introduces the key elements of heritage management planning and processes, considering how these have been influenced by World Heritage Site management planning, the multipurpose use of heritage sites, the effective engagement with stakeholders and communities, the delicate relationship between management and tourism, the development of management plans, and how different management organisations interact with each other.
Museum Studies - Specialised Compulsory Module
Collections Management (ICS8004, 20 credits, Spring Term)
Collections are fundamental to museums. This module will provide the theoretical and practical knowledge required to care for museum objects. The module introduces collections management and demonstrates its application in museums. In order to do this it considers five main themes, collections, management, documentation, material culture theory and research.
Museum Studies - Specialised Elective Modules
Archaeology (ICS8013, 20 credits, Spring Term)
This module examines the ethical, practical and political issues associated with creating and managing archaeology collections and their associated documentary evidence. It addresses the history and development of archaeology museums, placing them within the wider context of archaeological science. It also discusses legal issues, and looks at the ways in which collections are used to create archaeological histories in exhibitions, on site, through formal education and using information technology.
History (ICS8012, 20 credits, Spring Term)
This module explores the theory and practice of how history is 'made' in museums: the diverse types of material collected, how it is displayed and who by. The roles and impact of memory, reminiscence and formal histories are central to this option. The module considers the processes of collecting both tangible and intangible evidence (such as oral history) and the subsequent management of collected material and information. Further skills in object identification and care are developed, with object handling sessions of collections in local museums. The module balances theory and practice with a practical project normally planned in partnership with the History department at Tyne and Wear Museums.
In 2008, students in this module worked on the project Campus Tales.
Interpretation and Exhibitions (ICS8010, 20 credits, Spring Term)
This module is about creating museum exhibition and relevant digital online and in-gallery resources. The module revisits some of the key concepts of museum interpretation discussed in the compulsory modules of the course. It further examines issues around e-learning, and the development and management of museum online resources. Some training in web design and digital image manipulation is also included in the curriculum. Throughout the module, students are encouraged to reflect critically on the relationships between theories, practices and processes of museum communication, interpretation and exhibitions.
The module combines taught sessions with a strong empirical focus: the students are asked to work as a group to create a small scale exhibition and associated digital material, using the resources of one of Newcastle’s museums; this involves carrying out research, selecting objects, writing text and associated material, and developing a visual identity for both the in-gallery and online presentation of the exhibition. The opening of the exhibition is also organised by students.
Take a look at student projects carried out in this module: What's behind a smile (2008).
Natural History (ICS8014, 20 credits, Spring Term)
This option provides an opportunity for students to become familiar with the history, theory and practice of natural history curatorship. The units examine:
- the history of natural history and natural history collecting as a social phenomenon, and the impact this has had on museums;
- collections management in the natural sciences, including environmental recording and the use that is made of field data;
- exhibition and education strategies and techniques in natural history museums and science centres, and environmental interpretation at sites of natural history significance and d) research in museums of natural history, including historical, systematic and environmental research. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of natural history museums and the promotion of a conservation ethics.
Please note: Students in Museum Studies may alternatively choose to take Heritage, Education & Interpretation 2 as their specialised elective module or, if you have an art background, Art Curatorship 2.