AT403A: ANTHROPOLOGY, MUSEUMS AND SOCIETY (2020-2021)

Last modified: 05 Aug 2021 13:04

Course Overview

This course is organised around a series of seminars and visits to selected museums. The course is divided into two parts. The first addresses approaches in anthropology to the meanings of artefacts; the second considers contemporary curatorial practice. Assessment is based on an artefact study, which will involve original research utilising the collections of the University of Aberdeen, and an essay in which students reflect upon the course as a whole.

Course Details

Study Type	Undergraduate	Level	4
Term	First Term	Credit Points	30 credits (15 ECTS credits)
Campus	Aberdeen	Sustained Study	No
Co-ordinators	Professor Alison Brown

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

One of AT1003 Introduction to Anthropology: Peoples of the World (Passed) or AT1502 Introduction to Anthropology: Questions of Diversity (Passed) or BSc Medical Science (Medical Humanities)
Programme Level 4
Any Undergraduate Programme (Studied)

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

AT453A Anthropology, Museums and Society (Studied)
AT4545 Anthropology, Museums and Society (Studied)

Are there a limited number of places available?

Course Description

Museums are often regarded as the public face of anthropology and have increasingly become viewed as contested places in today's world. This course provides an introduction to museums as a field site for anthropology. Using case studies and current debates within critical museology it draws attention to aspects of the culture, history and functions of museums, and to their emerging role within projects of cultural revitalization.

Themes to be covered may include how artefacts are defined and valued in different contexts; how meaning is negotiated in exhibitions; relationships between museums and indigenous peoples; digital technologies and 'knowledge repatriation'; traditional care and curation; ownership and appropriation.

Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers

Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 30 August 2024 for 1st term courses and 20 December 2024 for 2nd term courses.

Summative Assessments

Report (1000 Words) 15%

Blog Post (1500 Words) 25%

Essay (2000 Words) 40%

Reading Critique Participation 20%

Alternative Resit Arrangements for students taking course in Academic Year 2020/21

Second attempt at whatever part of the assignment the student failed

Alternative Resit Arrangements for students who took the course in Academic Year 2019/20 and C8 students