Museums, Identities and Representations

Code:

MMUS018

Acronym:

MIR

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Cultural Studies

Instance: 2023/2024 - 1S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of Heritage Studies
Course/CS Responsible:	Masters in Museology

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MMUS	20	Study plan	1	-	6	41	162

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

1 – Discriminate the anthropological notion of “culture” and the notion of “material culture”;
2 – Recognize that the status and meaning of “things” are not intrinsic and that this is extending to "museological", everyday and/or mass-produced objects;
3 – Identify the ethnographic methodology as a useful strategy for the dynamic contextualization of museological collections;
4 – Identify the museum as cultural institution, recognizing the ethical and political dimentions of its role in contemporary times; 
5 – Recognize the Exhibition as central axis of the museum’s action and develop a critical view about its role in museum communication;
6 – Discuss the museum and the exhibition as places of construction of representations, whose effects are never
innocuous;
7 – Discuss the poetics and the politics of the exhibition representation;
8 – Summarize information about the most recent exhibition models and museographic pratices.

Learning outcomes and competences

Students who successfuly complete the module will  be able to:
- Master of the theoretical issues related to museological representation;
- To have developed capacity for critical refletion and analysis;
- To have developed capacity to communicate orally and in writing.

Working method

Presencial

Pre-requirements (prior knowledge) and co-requirements (common knowledge)

Non applicable.

Program

1. Objects and Museums

1.1 For an including notion of “culture”

1.2 The “material culture”: intrinsic value versus contextual value

 1.3 The “social life of things” and the “living things”: A. Appadurai and T. Ingold

1.4 Museums and Anthropology: illustration of the differentiated status of material culture and its plural meaning according to different theoretical approaches

1.5 Material culture mass-produced:  McCracken (1988) and the symbolic character of consumer goods

1.6 The ethnographic model of research as tool to access on the intangible of the material

1.7 The museum as cultural institution: historical product and with obligations towards society

2. Exhibition as medium for excellence in museum communication

2.1 The 1980s and the support of Anthropology for the New Museologies

2.1.1 Background: the post-colonial context and the relevance of constructivist epistemology

2.1.2Effects: the integration of museological institution on Cultural Studies

2.1.3 In discussion: what a museum for a democratic society and a global world

2.2 The museum as institution that builds representations

2.3 The Exhibition as a representation: its poetics and politics

3. New Exhibition practices

3.1 Museums, collectors, and collections as study objects

3.2 Temporary exhibitions and with co-curators: the multiplication of representations and voices

3.3 The narratives of the exhibitions: thematic and dialogical exhibitions and their multiple museographic strategies

3.4 The museum as “contact zone” and “heterotopia”: J. Clifford and M. Foucault

Mandatory literature

Anderson, G. (ed.) ; Reinventing the Museum: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on the Paradigma Shift., . London: Altamira Press., 2004. ISBN: ISBN: 978-0759101708
Anico, Marta ; Museus e Pós-Modernidade: Discursos e Performances em Contextos Museológicos Locais. , Lisboa: ISCSP. , 2008. ISBN: 978-989-646-003-7
Bennett, Tony (1995).; The History of Museums: History, Theory, Politics. , London, New York: Routledge.
Candlin, Fiona (2015).; Micromuseology. An Analysisof Small Independent Museum., London and New York: Bloomsbory Academic.
Dartel, Daan van; "There's a story behind everything. Moving towards the intangible at the Tropenmuseum" , International Conference on Intangible Heritade. S. Lira, R. Amoêda, C. Pinheiro, J. Pinheiro & F. Oliveira (eds.), Sharing Cultures 2009. Barcelos: Green Lines Institute, 341-351, 2009. ISBN: 978-989-95671-1-5
Duarte, Alice ; Nova Museologia: Os Pontapés de Saída de uma Abordagem Ainda Inovadora., Revista Museologia e Patrimônio, 6 (2), 99-117., 2013
Duarte, Alice ; “O museu como lugar de representação do Outro”. , Antropológicas, nº 2, 121-140., 1998
Henare, Amiria et al. (2007). ; Thinking Through Things: theorizing artefacts ethnographically. , London, New York: Routledge., 2007
Jones, Siân (2010). ; “Negotiating authentic objects and authentic selves. Behind the deconstruction of authenticity”. , Journal of Material Culture, 15 (2): 181-203.
Karp, Ivan and Lavine, Steven D. (eds.) (1991); Exhibiting Cultures: The Poetics and Politics of Museum Display , Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press. [069.5k28e]
Krouse, Susan Applegate ; Anthropology and the New Museology, Reviews in Anthropology, vol. 35, 2, 169-182., 2006
Lumley, Robert (ed.) ; The Museum Time Machine: Putting Cultures on Display, London: Routledge. , 1988. ISBN: 978-0-415-00652-1
Macdonald, Sharon ; “Exhibitions of power and powers of exhibitions: An introduction to the politics of display”. In S. Macdonald (ed.), The Politics of Display: Museum, Science, Culture. , London: Routledge, 1-24. , (1998).
Macdonald, Sharon (ed.) ; A Companion to Museums Studies. , Oxford: Blackwell Publishing., (2006).
Martínez, Javier Gomez ; Dos Museologias: Las tradiciones Anglosajona Y Mediterránea: Diferencias Y Contactos, , Gijon: Ed. Trea, S, L., 2006. ISBN: 84-9704-224-7
McCracken, Grant; Culture and Consumption. New Approaches to the Symbolic Character of Consumer Goods and Activities. , Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1988. ISBN: 0-253-31526-3
Tilley, C et al.(eds.), (2006).; The Handbook of Material Culture , London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi. Sage Publications
Vergo, Peter (ed.) ; The New Museology. , London: Reaktion Books. , 1993. ISBN: ISBN:0-948462-03-5

Comments from the literature

Complementary bibliography will be indicated throughout the sessions.

Teaching methods and learning activities

The sessions are theoretical-practical with lectures given by the professor and crossed with the participation and discussion with the students. In all sessions, texts of complementary bibliography are indicated (and most often provided), with which the student can gain some preparation regarding the topics of the next session. Among the material make available it is a set of texts by several authors about Exhibitions' ethnographies.
The evaluation will be distributed without final exam and composed of the following evaluation elements:
1) oral presentation and discussion of texts in the classroom; 2) elaboration of a written Individual Report, dealing with a critical reflection on the poetics and politics of an Exhibition selected by the student. 
These evaluation elements have, respectively, the weights of: 20% + 80%. The deadline for submitting the Individual Report is set two weeks after the oral presentations, so that the discussions can be considered and integrated into the final text presented.

Software

Microsoft Office

keywords

Social sciences > Political sciences > Public policy > Cultural policy > Museology
Social sciences > Anthropology

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Trabalho escrito	80,00
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	20,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	48,00
Trabalho de investigação	45,00
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	30,00
Frequência das aulas	39,00
Total:	162,00

Eligibility for exams

Students must guarantee a 75% attendance. Attendance will be verified by students' signature in attendance sheets, which may be consulted for absence management. Except for the cases provided for in the general law and regulations of the Faculty.

Calculation formula of final grade

Evaluation elements:
1) oral presentation and discussion of texts in the classroom =20%;
2) elaboration of a written Individual Report, dealing with a critical reflection on the poetics and politics of an Exhibition selected by the student  = 80%.

Examinations or Special Assignments

Non applicable.

Internship work/project

Non applicable.

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

Accordance with Assessment Regulations in force.

Classification improvement

To repeat only the written Research Report.

Observations

The professor ensures individual support to the elaboration of individual report.