LP922-30 The Modern Museum: Society, Economy, Environment

Department: SCAPVC - Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies
Level: Taught Postgraduate Level
Module leader: Jamie Larkin
Credit value: 30
Module duration: 10 weeks
Assessment: 100% coursework
Study location: University of Warwick main campus, Coventry

Introductory description

In this module you will study the museum from a global perspective. You will explore the western origins of the museum, and trace how and why the concept of the museum has developed over time and space. You will examine how museums function in local, national and international contexts, considering how museums influence, and are influenced by, a range of social, economic and environmental issues. The module will be grounded in the UK context in that we will take fieldtrips to visit local museums, but you will be encouraged to develop your knowledge of museum practice in other countries according to your interests. The module will enable you to understand the context within which museums operate, the pressures they face, and their opportunities to play a role in contemporary society.

Module web page

Module aims

To provide an historical overview of western origins of the museum and its subsequent global development.
To engage students with current issues of policy and practice in the museums sector and relevant academic debates
To support students to question why and how the state intervenes in museum provision, and to consider alternative models of museum development
To support students to develop their understanding of the relationships that exist between museums and their communities, be they local, national, or international.
To differentiate between the key organizations and actors involved in the development of museum practice and policy at local, nationl and international levels

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

The origins of museums: class positioning and empire building
The relationship of museums to cultural policy: 'it's complicated'
The dilemma of the 'public museum': multiple accountabilities
The inclusive museum: the politics of representation
The participatory museum: engagement and co-production
The digital museum: what's new?
Commercialising museums: entrepreneurial practices and austerities
Decolonising the museum: can it be done?
Activist museums: new practices

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

Understand the western origins of the museum concept and how this has expanded with its global development
Identify the primary organization and policies that shape the museum sector, both in the UK and globally.
Demonstrate familiarity with the various types of museum and their relationship to the communities of which they are part
Investigate the assumptions and values upon which museum practices and policies are based, both in the UK and globally, and critically reflect upon them.
Critically analyze current issues affecting museums in the UK and globally and develop an original position on these based on engagement with academic and industry sources.
Synthesize knowledge, ideas and arguments concerning museum studies and present them across a range of media

Indicative reading list

Alivizatou, M. 2012. Intangible Heritage and the Museum: New Perspectives on Cultural Preservation (Left Coast Press).
Bennett, T. The Birth of the Museum: history, theory, politics (Routledge)
Bhatti, S. 2012. Translating Museums: A Counterhistory of South Asian Museology (Left Coast Press)
Brulon Soares, B. 2023. The Anticolonial Museum: Reclaiming our Colonial Heritage. (Routledge)
Candlin, F. 2016. Micromuseology: An Analysis of Small Independent Museums (Bloomsbury).
Deliss, C. 2020. The Metabolic Museum. (Hatje Cantze)
Desvallees, A. & Mairesse, M.(eds). 2010. Key Concepts of Museology (ICOM International Committee for Museology)
Dewdney, D. et al (2013). Post-Critical Museology: Theory and Practice in the Art Museum (Routledge)
Duncan, C. 1995. Civilizing Rituals. Inside Public Art Museums (Routledge).
Gray, C. & McCall, V. 2020. The Role of Today's Museum (Routledge, 2020)
Harrison, R., et al. 2020. Heritage Futures: Comparative Approaches to Natural and Cultural Heritage Practices (UCL Press).
Hill, K. 2016. Culture and Class in English Public Museums 1850-1914 (Routledge)
Janes, R. 2023. Museums and Societal Collapse: The Museum as Lifeboat (Routledge).
Janes, R. & Sandell, R. (ed.) 2019. Museum Activism (Routledge).
Lonetree, A. 2012. Decolonizing Museums: Representing Native American in National and Tribal Museums (University of North Carolina Press).
Lu, T. 2013. Museums in China: Power, Politics and Identities. Routledge.
Marstine, J. (ed). 2011. The Routledge companion to museum ethics: redefining ethics for the twenty-first century museum (Routledge)
Mason, R. et al. 2018. Museum and Gallery Studies: The Basics (Routledge).
Macdonald, S. (ed). 2011. A Companion to Museum Studies (Blackwell).
Merriman, N. (ed). 2023. Museums and the Climate Crisis (Routledge).
Morse, N. 2020. The Museum as a Space of Social Care. Routledge.
Newell, J. et al. (2016). Curating the Future: Museums, Communities and Climate Change (Routledge)
Witcomb, A. (ed). 2002. Re-imagining the museum: beyond the mausoleum (Routledge)
Witcomb, A & Message, K. 2020. Museum Theory. John Wiley & Sons.

Interdisciplinary

This module draws from museum studies; heritage studies; sociology; politics; economics; art history; cultural studies

International

This module is intended to support students to undertake their own research into cultural policy models from around the world, and compare them to British cases.

Subject specific skills

You will develop your awareness of the political context within which museums operate and the rationale of government policy in the cultural sector. Understanding the political context within which museums function will allow you to appreciate where trends in museum practice come from, and a historical perspective on museum development will mean you can put these trends in context. Examining the assumptions and values underpinning cultural policy will support you to become a reflective practitioner in the sector. Understanding how the museum sector is changing in response to a changing social and political context will enable you to think about the importance of professional and organisational values in the field.

Awareness of the interdisciplinary nature of museum and heritage work
Identification of the skill-sets required for museum and heritage work

Transferable skills

The module Outline states that:
The module will equip you with the necessary skills and knowledge to engage in academic debates on public institutions for management and strategy on museums.
It will enhance your ability to understand and situate existing policy, strategy, report and research publications, conducted by government agency research, advocates and consultancy research, and scholarly research.
It will enhance your skills in the processes and challenges of researching for cultural organisations (for strategy building, implementation, agenda-creation and communications, management and initiative-taking or enterprise initiatives).

Study time

Type	Required
Lectures	9 sessions of 1 hour (3%)
Seminars	9 sessions of 2 hours (6%)
Fieldwork	(0%)
External visits	6 sessions of (0%)
Private study	273 hours (91%)
Total	300 hours

Private study description

Private study is structured and organised according to (a) the weekly seminar structure, which is a de fact syllabus; and (b) according to the schedule submission demands (Group Presentation, Research paper and so forth). This features:
1: A Moodle interface linked to Tallis, with a study guide and reading for each seminar, in which students are assigned tasks and play an active if non-assessed role in the seminar learning. This often involves viewing and presenting visual materials, like documentary video.
2: In-person Tutor input is weekly in the second half of the module, guiding the group work and presentation submission.
3: The group work is in-person as well as online, but for purposes of recording and group availability, students are required to schedule a series of independent group meetings online in which they make critical decisions for their projects.

While individual study behaviour is impossible to quantify, we estimate that the actual time spent in individual study (alone, self-managed or without guidance) is less than half the time specified here.

Students are given guidance on academic study, time management, and research methods, in other sessions ‘around’ the option module, and within the common core module Research Design [LP935]. Adding to which is the Personal Tutor system, meaning that their private study always takes place within a framework of guidance, clear schedules and support.

Costs

Category	Description	Funded by	Cost to student
Field trips, placements and study abroad	Depending on the year of delivery, there may be a visit to a cultural institution which would involve travel costs. These would be no more than £50 per module.	Student	£50.00

You do not need to pass all assessment components to pass the module.

Assessment group A2

	Weighting	Eligible for self-certification
Assessment component
3000 word essay	70%	No
A research based paper in response to a question relating to the subject matter of one of the seminars.
Reassessment component is the same
Assessment component
Group Work project presentation	30%	No
To present a strategic proposal for institutional development, in response to a specific seminar challenge -- published in the module outline.
Reassessment component
Literature Review		Yes (extension)
To provde a comprehensive review of relevant sources that would have gone in to the missed assignment (presentation)

Feedback on assessment

The marker writes around one A4 page of written feedback, and does so under specified categories (each of which identify the published criteria of marking – published in both the student Handbook, the module Moodle form and the Module Outline or Handbook document). These categories are knowledge and understanding, argument and analysis, research, and presentation.

Marking is supported by a moderator, who surveys the distribution of all marks, and samples written work along with feedback in advance of publication. Publication is a PDF of the markers feedback, with mark, and delivered automatically via Tabula to the student's University email account 20 days after the date of submission.

Courses

This module is Optional for:

Year 1 of TLPS-W4PQ Postgraduate Taught Arts, Enterprise and Development
Year 1 of TTHS-W4PQ Postgraduate Taught Arts, Enterprise and Development
Year 1 of TLPS-W4P4 Postgraduate Taught Creative and Media Enterprises
Year 1 of TTHS-W4P4 Postgraduate Taught Creative and Media Enterprises
Year 1 of TLPS-W4PG Postgraduate Taught Global Media and Communication
Year 1 of TTHS-W4PG Postgraduate Taught Global Media and Communication
Year 1 of TLPS-W4PM Postgraduate Taught International Cultural Policy and Management
Year 1 of TTHS-W4PM Postgraduate Taught International Cultural Policy and Management