Decolonise the Museum!

SALC62242 Decolonise the Museum! 30 Semester 2 Postgraduate Taught Level 6 Emma Martin Unit coordinator Art History and Cultural Practices 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Masters/Integrated Masters P4 ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 15.0 In May 2020, following the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, #BlackLivesMatter demanded acknowledgment and accountability for the devaluation and dehumanization of Black lives at the hands of the police. As a global network of protests grew, other institutions also modelled on White, male and heteronormative principles where called on to recognise the inherent bias and institutional racism within their systems. This call included museums. Many issued statements that acknowledged their ties to colonialism and slavery with the admission that they needed to do better; they needed to become anti-racist in their practice and to decolonize the museum. But what does that actually mean? Over the course of this module we will consider what decolonization and anti-racism looks like in the museum drawing on the scholarship and activism of Indigenous Peoples, Racialised Peoples, and People of Colour. We will encounter the contemporary issues facing museums and ask if it is in fact ever possible to decolonize the museum? Through lectures, seminars, discussions with museum professionals and fieldwork this course will equip you with a range of critical, theoretical and practical approaches related to the subject. It will specifically focus on how this approach can challenge accepted practices for collecting, interpreting, researching and exhibiting in anthropology and colonial-era museums. We will question the origins of these museums and their harmful and contested collections before turning to consider their present-day potential. The core question for this module is how can decolonial scholarship and activism influence societal, cultural and political change by raising questions over global inequalities, colonial amnesia and the (mis)representation of silenced histories in museums.  Hi Everyone, If you’ve not already met me, I’m Emma and I’m convening the Decolonise the museum module in semester 2.  Here’s a little background to the course.In May 2020, following the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, #BlackLivesMatter demanded acknowledgment and accountability for the devaluation and dehumanization of Black lives at the hands of the police. As a global network of protests grew, other institutions also modelled on White, male and heteronormative principles where called on to recognise the inherent bias and institutional racism within their systems. This call included museums. Many issued statements that acknowledged their ties to colonialism and slavery with the admission that they needed to do better; they needed to become anti-racist in their practice and to decolonize the museum. But what does that actually mean? Over the course of this module we will consider what decolonization and anti-racism looks like in the museum drawing on the scholarship and activism of Indigenous Peoples, Racialised Peoples, and People of Colour. We will encounter the contemporary issues facing museums and ask if it is in fact ever possible to decolonize the museum? Through lectures, seminars, discussions with museum professionals and fieldwork this course will equip you with a range of critical, theoretical and practical approaches related to the subject. It will specifically focus on how this approach can challenge accepted practices for collecting, interpreting, researching and exhibiting in anthropology and colonial-era museums. We will question the origins of these museums and their harmful and contested collections before turning to consider their present-day potential. The core question for this module is how can decolonial scholarship and activism influence societal, cultural and political change by raising questions over global inequalities, colonial amnesia and the (mis)representation of silenced histories in museums.  The course is designed to:<ol><li>Develop a critical understanding of the theory and practice that underpins acts of museum decolonization.  </li><li>Offer an overview of the skills, requirements and challenges needed when developing decolonizing research agendas and practices in museums.  </li><li>Provide a thorough knowledge of the intellectual and ethical issues involved in the decolonization of museums.  </li><li>Provide practical knowledge and experience of decolonizing practices in museums and galleries.</li></ol> On successful completion of this course you should be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:<ul><li>The institutional and professional contexts within which museum decolonization develops.  </li><li>The role of the museum (historically and in the present) in producing colonial/imperial, biased and racist ideologies through practices of collecting, display and interpretation.</li><li>The specific issues of appropriation and representation arising from Western/Imperial curation of Indigenous material culture in both colonial/imperial and post-colonial/imperial contexts.</li><li>The theory and practice of museum decolonization.  </li><li>How to apply an understanding of decolonial thinking and post-colonial studies to museum theory and practice.  </li></ul> <ul><li>Undertake self-directed learning and skills acquisition</li><li>Conduct independent, critical fieldwork</li><li>Develop appropriate methodological and analytical skills</li><li>Apply skills and ideas learned in one institutional context to another, while remaining aware of the complexity of the issues </li></ul> <ul><li>Initiate practical and creative solutions to specific criteria.</li><li>Communicate complex research findings through clear written and verbal articulation, supported by appropriate technological tools. </li></ul> <ul><li>Retrieve, select and critically evaluate information from a variety of sources, including museums, libraries, archives, and the internet.</li><li>Communicate information and ideas effectively in a professional, as well as an academic, environment.</li><li>Engage in debates on contested and difficult subject matter with sensitivity and awareness.</li><li>Critically evaluate personal performance through monitoring and analytical reflection.</li><li>Demonstrate independent learning ability suitable for continuing study and professional development. </li></ul> Other - Communicate the value and applicability of museum decolonization in organisational practice. - Articulate clearly the key challenges related to museum decolonization in the museum sector. - Get anti-racist collections and archival skills required in museum professional practice - Work collaboratively to create a decolonization resource - Manage time efficiently - Generate ideas and think laterally - Group working - Listening and discussion skills Weekly one-hour lectures and two-hour seminars with directed learning and presentations to be prepared from week to week, including presentations by guest lectures and site visits. Students will be directed to conduct fieldwork in preparation for the class in specific weeks. Teaching and Learning Methods include:<ul><li>Lectures and seminars</li><li>Individual and group fieldwork</li><li>Reading, discussion</li><li>Discussion with museum professionals</li><li>Individual research</li><li>Practical workshops</li><li>Developing a collaborative on-line resource</li></ul> The course will have a Canvas site with all elements of the minimum specification including:  1. Aims, Objectives, Timetable and Mode of Assessment  2. Course Materials  3. Reading lists  4. Guidance on assessment 0 Other 100%  ASSESSMENT METHODS<figure class="table"><table style="border-collapse:collapse;border-image:none;border:1pt solid windowtext;margin-left:7px;"><tbody><tr><td style="border-image:none;border:1pt solid windowtext;padding:0cm 5.4pt;vertical-align:top;width:205.85pt;" width="274">Assessment task (all assessments must be completed in English)</td><td style="border-bottom:1pt solid windowtext;border-left:0px none rgb(0, 0, 0);border-right:1pt solid windowtext;border-top:1pt solid windowtext;padding:0cm 5.4pt;vertical-align:top;width:86.5pt;" width="115">Formative or Summative</td><td style="border-bottom:1pt solid windowtext;border-left:0px none rgb(0, 0, 0);border-right:1pt solid windowtext;border-top:1pt solid windowtext;padding:0cm 5.4pt;vertical-align:top;width:93.2pt;" width="124">Length</td><td style="border-bottom:1pt solid windowtext;border-left:0px none rgb(0, 0, 0);border-right:1pt solid windowtext;border-top:1pt solid windowtext;padding:0cm 5.4pt;vertical-align:top;width:107.15pt;" width="143">Weighting within unit (if summative)</td></tr><tr><td style="border-bottom:1pt solid windowtext;border-left:1pt solid windowtext;border-right:1pt solid windowtext;border-top:0px none rgb(0, 0, 0);padding:0cm 5.4pt;vertical-align:top;width:205.85pt;" width="274">Individual Podcast</td><td style="border-bottom:1pt solid windowtext;border-left:0px none rgb(0, 0, 0);border-right:1pt solid windowtext;border-top:0px none rgb(0, 0, 0);padding:0cm 5.4pt;vertical-align:top;width:86.5pt;" width="115">Summative</td><td style="border-bottom:1pt solid windowtext;border-left:0px none rgb(0, 0, 0);border-right:1pt solid windowtext;border-top:0px none rgb(0, 0, 0);padding:0cm 5.4pt;vertical-align:top;width:93.2pt;" width="124">15 minutes</td><td style="border-bottom:1pt solid windowtext;border-left:0px none rgb(0, 0, 0);border-right:1pt solid windowtext;border-top:0px none rgb(0, 0, 0);padding:0cm 5.4pt;vertical-align:top;width:107.15pt;" width="143">30%</td></tr><tr><td style="border-bottom:1pt solid windowtext;border-left:1pt solid windowtext;border-right:1pt solid windowtext;border-top:0px none rgb(0, 0, 0);padding:0cm 5.4pt;vertical-align:top;width:205.85pt;" width="274">Essay 30 credits </td><td style="border-bottom:1pt solid windowtext;border-left:0px none rgb(0, 0, 0);border-right:1pt solid windowtext;border-top:0px none rgb(0, 0, 0);padding:0cm 5.4pt;vertical-align:top;width:86.5pt;" width="115">Summative</td><td style="border-bottom:1pt solid windowtext;border-left:0px none rgb(0, 0, 0);border-right:1pt solid windowtext;border-top:0px none rgb(0, 0, 0);padding:0cm 5.4pt;vertical-align:top;width:93.2pt;" width="124">3,000 words</td><td style="border-bottom:1pt solid windowtext;border-left:0px none rgb(0, 0, 0);border-right:1pt solid windowtext;border-top:0px none rgb(0, 0, 0);padding:0cm 5.4pt;vertical-align:top;width:107.15pt;" width="143">70%</td></tr></tbody></table></figure> RE-SIT ASSESSMENTEssay, 3000 words <table style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; border-image: none; width: 496.15pt; margin-left: 7px; border-collapse: collapse;" width="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt; border: 1pt solid windowtext; border-image: none; width: 241pt;" valign="top" width="321">Feedback method </td> <td style="border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt 0px; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 9cm;" valign="top" width="340">Formative or Summative</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 241pt;" valign="top" width="321">Essay Proposal surgery and written comments</td> <td style="border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; border-style: none solid solid none; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 9cm;" valign="top" width="340">Formative</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 241pt;" valign="top" width="321">Academic advisor meeting</td> <td style="border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; border-style: none solid solid none; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 9cm;" valign="top" width="340">Formative</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 241pt;" valign="top" width="321">Turnitin</td> <td style="border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; border-style: none solid solid none; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 9cm;" valign="top" width="340">Summative</td> </tr> </tbody></table> N Abungu, G. O. (2019). Museums: Geopolitics, Decolonisation, Globalisation and Migration. Museum International, 71(1-2), 62-71. Bunning, K. (2020) Negotiating Race and Rights in the Museum. Routledge. Bodenstein, Felicity and Camilla Pagani (2014) ‘Decolonising National Museums of Ethnography in Europe: Exposing and Reshaping Colonial Heritage (2000-2012)’ in Iain Chambers et al (eds.) The Postcolonial Museum: The Arts of Memory and the Pressures of History (London: Routledge), pp. 39-50. Brulon Soares, B., & Leshchenko, A. (2018). ‘Museology in Colonial Contexts: A ¿all for Decolonisation of Museum Theory’. ICOFOM Study Series, (46), 61-79. Crow, J. (2011). ‘The Mapuche Museum of Cañete (1968–2010): Decolonising the Gaze’. Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies, 20(2), 161-178. de Varine, H. (2005). ‘Ethics and heritage: decolonising museology’. ICOM news, 58(3), 3-3. Emberley, J. (2006). (un)Housing Aboriginal Possessions in the Virtual Museum: Cultural Practices and Decolonization in civilization. ca and Reservation X. Journal of Visual Culture, 5(3), 387-410. Giblin, J., Ramos, I., & Grout, N. (2019). Dismantling the Master’s House: Thoughts on Representing Empire and Decolonising Museums and Public Spaces in Practice An Introduction. Third Text, (4-5), 33. Kidd, J., Cairns, S., Drago, A., & Ryall, A. (2016). Challenging history in the museum: International perspectives. Routledge. Krep Lectures 12 Seminars 24 0 264 Available on other programmes subject to capacity