Postgraduate Course: The Cultures and Politics of Display (HIAR11038)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The Cultures and Politics of Display is an MSc core course which studies the theory and practice of curation and exhibition cultures. It engages the history and principles of curation alongside its practical application in a range of cultural institutions, asking students to analyse the material requirements and conceptual assumptions underlying the display of art from various periods and cultures. |
| Course description |
On this course, curation is approached as an evolving practice with varying traditions and conventions (the 'cultures' of the title) and value systems (the 'politics'). The course addresses a range of case studies from diverse contexts, allowing consideration of key issues in curatorial thinking, including: the social context of cultural institutions and the question of equality; the interpretation of artworks in the context of a display; the dialogue between curatorial work and emancipatory social demands; and how specific art practices and curating interact. Contemporary and historical material and practices are covered on this course.
Weekly 1-hour lectures are delivered by ECA staff with expertise in the theory and/or practice of curating, and by professional curators from a variety of cultural institutions. Lecturers, and thus the content of the course, vary from year to year, reflecting changes in contemporary curatorial discourse. Small group, 1-hr tutorials run weekly alongside the lectures and are an important opportunity for in-depth discussion, analysis and critique of issues raised in the lectures. Students are expected to: attend the lectures, taking the opportunity to learn from practitioners and theorists in the field; to do the required reading relating to each lecture; and to actively engage in tutorial discussions with their tutors and peers. Additional group work between students is actively encouraged. At times, teaching may take place in cultural institutions in the vicinity of the University.
The course covers critical issues around exhibitions, art institutions and curating, considering both theory and practice. The final two weeks of the course run as two parallel strands: one for students on the History of Art, Theory and Display programme focused on the curation of pre- or early modern art; and one for students on the Modern and Contemporary Art programme focused on curating contemporary art. The latter strand is normally delivered by an external curator/scholar appointed as the annual Fellow in Contemporary Art Theory and Curating.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | Students MUST NOT also be taking
Collections: Theories, Practices and Methods (HIAR11093)
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Other requirements | This course is restricted to students on the MSc programmes in History of Art |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 75 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 8,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 11,
External Visit Hours 5,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 1,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
169 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
This course has 2 assessment components:
1. Written Assessment: 2,000-word Essay (50%), Weeks 6-8. This requires students to identify and discuss the key curatorial concepts and issues that will underpin their curatorial proposal. It asks students to critically situate these concepts in the wider social, political and cultural landscape.
2. Portfolio: curatorial proposal submitted as three Wordpress blog posts, total 2,000 words (50%), May exam diet. Asks students to apply relevant theoretical knowledge to its practical application. Full guidance on the content of the curatorial proposal will be provided in tutorial groups. |
| Feedback |
Formative feedback:
1. Verbal, in-tutorial feedback on formative essay plan delivered by course tutors and peers in Week 5. Intended to contribute to completion of Written Assessment (essay).
2. Written comments on in-progress blog posts for the Portfolio (curatorial proposal) delivered by tutors in week 11.
Summative feedback:
1. Full written feedback on essay delivered by tutors via Turnitin before the end of week 11. The summative feedback for component 1 will feed directly into component 2.
2. Full written feedback on Portfolio (curatorial proposal) delivered by tutors via Turnitin.
Feedback and grades for both summative assessment components will be monitored by the Course Organiser.
Summative feedback will be provided according to University regulations. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Recognise and interpret key terms and concepts in contemporary curatorial practice.
- Understand, analyse and critique a range of curatorial practices, from those in large art institutions to alternative practices by individual curators and small collectives.
- Critically situate current curatorial theory and practice in the wider social, political and cultural landscape.
- Deconstruct key curatorial concepts in dialogue with others.
- Conceptualise and plan a curatorial project in written form, applying relevant theoretical knowledge to its practical application.
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Reading List
Bruce W. Ferguson, Reesa Greenberg, Sandy Nairne, eds., Thinking about Exhibitions, Routledge 1996
Malene Vest Hansen, Kristian Handberg, eds., Curating the Contemporary in the Art Museum, Routledge 2023
Timothy W. Luke, Shows of Force: Power, Politics and Ideology in Art Exhibitions, Duke University Press 1992
Paul O'Neill, The Culture of Curating and the Curating of Culture(s), The MIT Press 2012
Nick Prior, Museums and Modernity: Art Galleries and the Making of Modern Culture, Berg 2002
Maura Reilly, Curatorial Activism: Towards an Ethic of Curating, Thames & Hudson 2018 |
Additional Information
| Course URL |
http://www.arthistory.ed.ac.uk/ |
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Personal/intellectual autonomy: Thinking creatively in developing a curatorial proposal, demonstrating reflective awareness of ethical dimensions, social responsibility and sustainability issues in contemporary curatorial practice.
Communication: Effective, interactive verbal communication including listening, questioning, and articulating complex ideas, in tutorials and in lectures. The ability to produce clear, structured written work that effectively explains the application of key curatorial concepts in practical terms.
Research and enquiry: The issues in contemporary curation raised on this course demand critical thinking, the ability to evaluate information in making an informed judgement, and mental flexibility. |
| Keywords | Curation,exhibition studies,politics,economics,creative industry,history of museum |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Hannah Halliwell
Tel:
Email: Hannah.Halliwell@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Susanne Neil
Tel:
Email: sneil@ed.ac.uk |
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