THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2021/2022

Information in the Degree Programme Tables may still be subject to change in response to Covid-19

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : Edinburgh College of Art : Art

Undergraduate Course: Edinburgh Collections (ARTX08061)

Course Outline
SchoolEdinburgh College of Art CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 8 (Year 1 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThe course will promote the implementation of object-based learning and will be unique in that it uses an active Art and Object Collection from the University and accessible National Collections as its starting point. Students will learn about the histories and ideas behind collections, material handling, ethical and curatorial issues.

This course will allow students to bring together their own understanding of the context of existing and possible future meta-collections as well as developing and proposing curatorship of their own personal collections.
Course description Edinburgh is home to many collections, from the University's Special Collections through to a range of City and National Collections, Libraries and Archives. As a city and a University we are in a unique and privileged position to offer students informed and specialist knowledge and access to a wide range of collections.

Most collections have been formed around teaching through the object.

As artists the meanings and nature of collections are intrinsically linked to the study and development of a visual language, the way artists collect and process information echoes a form of collecting, refining ideas, seeking the particular object and making connections.

This course will allow students to bring together their own understanding of the personal collection and learn about the nature and the context of specific collections, understand aspects of material handling, conservation and curating.

The course will maintain a consistent structure while the exact content may vary across different years in order to capitalise on the discoveries and events that exist at the time of the delivery.

Students will analyse and reflect on the context and content of the origins, the archive, the legacy, display and the future of specific collections.

The course is open to students from different programmes of study and will bring together contributors and participants from across eca and the wider university, thereby increasing interdisciplinary practice.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesThis course is aimed at students wishing to explore and study specific collections in Edinburgh - it is not essential that students have an art background.

**Art courses are high-demand, meaning that they have a very high number of students wishing to enrol in a very limited number of spaces.**

These enrolments are managed strictly by the Visiting Student Office, in line with the quotas allocated by the departments, and all enquiries to enrol in these courses must be made through the CAHSS Visiting Student Office. It is not appropriate for students to contact the department directly to request additional spaces.

Please note that this course may incur materials costs & field trip costs.
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Not being delivered
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Investigation: Demonstrate an understanding of the backgrounds and contexts of a range of collections.
  2. Methods: Demonstrate the application of appropriate methods, processes and materials that expand your knowledge of the defining features of collections.
  3. Application: Communicate and apply what you have learned in an integrated and coherent form.
Reading List
Magnificent Obsessions, The Artist as Collector, Barbican Gallery, Prestel 2015

Bloom, Phillip, To have and to Hold, An intimate History of Collectors and Collecting. Allen Lane 2002.

J. Mack The Museum of the Mind: Art and Memory in World Cultures, London 2003

Schaffner, Ingrid, Deep Storage, Collecting, Storing and Archiving in Art PS1 New York 1998.
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Development of observational, critical, analytical and reflective skills.
Development of autonomous abilities re planning, and resolving a personally motivated focused collections project.
Development of research skills, library and location based, & through use of personal and city
Keywordscollection,archive,display,curating,edinburgh
Contacts
Course organiserMr Gordon Brennan
Tel: (0131 6)51 5902
Email: g.brennan@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMiss Hannah Morrison
Tel: (0131 6)51 5763
Email: hmorris4@ed.ac.uk
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