Postgraduate Course: Collections: Theories, Practices and Methods (HIAR11093)
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 | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Led by academic staff, with contributions from museum and gallery professionals, and delivered through experiential, hands-on sessions and seminars, this course combines practical skills development and theoretical and methodological approaches relating to the fields of collections and curating practices. |
| Course description |
Collections: Theories, Practices, Methods is designed to prepare you for independent research and a career in the museums and galleries sector, enabling you to develop in-depth knowledge of the critical issues, debates and histories that shape collections and curating practices today.
The course interleaves theoretical and methodological seminars with practical sessions and experiential learning and includes off-site visits to Edinburgh's many public collections, museums and galleries, collection storage facilities, archives, and other public spaces.
Each seminar is led by academics from across the University and museum and gallery professionals from cultural and arts institutions such as the National Museums Scotland, National Galleries of Scotland, National Library of Scotland, Talbot Rice Gallery, Fruitmarket, and the University of Edinburgh's Special Collections. Students will engage with topics and debates affecting curation today that range from the political to the pragmatic including, for example, colonial and imperial legacies of the Western museum, object handling, collections management, fundraising, museum acquisition policies and object interpretation.
This course takes place over ten teaching weeks with weekly two-hour seminars. Seminars comprise various teaching activities, including short lectures, class discussions and group tasks, guided collections and exhibition tours, site visits and workshops. Seminar discussions typically include the close analysis of the content of the class and essential readings. Students are expected to complete the essential reading each week in advance of the seminar. All seminars encourage active participation.
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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
The Cultures and Politics of Display (HIAR11038)
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Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | This Course does not require any additional costs to be met by the Student.
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Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 8 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 10,
External Visit Hours 12,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 1,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
171 )
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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. Writing Exercise, 1500 words, 30%, Weeks 6-8, relating to all Learning Outcomes.
2. Essay, 3000 words, 70%, Exam diet, relating to all Learning Outcomes.
For Assessment 1, the Writing Exercise, student will write ONE of the following for submission: an exhibition catalogue essay; curatorial proposal; community or audience engagement project proposal; educational outreach programme proposal; or a project proposal that engages with some aspect of collections and curating practices. This last must be approved by the Course Organiser. Guidance on best practice and examples of each writing type will be provided.
Resit Information
The resit arrangements for this course are as follows.
- The resit task for assessment component 1 is a Writing Exercise (see description), 1500 words.
- The resit task for assessment component 2 is an Essay, 3000 words
Students will receive further resit information as per University regulations where necessary.
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| Feedback |
Formative feedback:
Students will receive formative feedback during seminars from peers and the Course Organiser in the form of class discussions, presentations and the opportunity to ask questions. This ongoing formative feedback will contribute directly to the course learning outcomes and both summative assessments equally. Additionally, each student is entitled to a one-to-one meeting to obtain verbal or written feedback from the course organiser on a c. 250-word Essay Plan for the 3000-word essay in Weeks 8-9. This formative feedback is given during one-to-one sessions outside scheduled seminars.
Summative feedback:
Students will receive separate written feedback for both summative assessments from the Course Organiser. The analytical and critical thinking skills needed for the first summative assessment correspond to the skills needed in the second summative assessment. As such, summative feedback for the first assessment will contribute directly to the second assessment, allowing for reflection and improvement before the second summative submission.
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:
- Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of curatorial and collections-based practices, concepts, research paradigms and research findings.
- Apply diverse practical, theoretical, and methodological approaches to collections and curating practices with an awareness of broader implications.
- Identify, conceptualise and offer creative insights into key issues in the field of collections and curatorial practices, including the future shape of the field.
- Plan and manage a programme of independent research.
- Communicate with peers and professionals about research, in visual, written and verbal forms.
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Reading List
Carolee, Thea. On Curating II: Interviews with Fourteen International Curators. Distributed Art Publishers, 2016.
Krasny, Elke and Lara Perry, eds. Curating with Care. Routledge, 2023.
Marstine, Janet, and Oscar Ho Hing Kay, eds. Curating Art. Routledge, 2022.
O'Neill, Paul and Mick Wilson, eds. Curating Research. Open Edition, 2014.
Pearce, Susan M. On Collecting: an investigation into collecting in the European Tradition. Routledge, 1999.
Smith, Terry. Thinking Contemporary Curating. Independent Curators International, 2012. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Personal and Intellectual Autonomy: You will develop transferable professional knowledge, independent learning and research skills, including advanced critical and analytical skills. Graduates will have a strong sense of autonomy and be prepared to establish or focus their careers in the creative, cultural and heritage industries.
Personal Effectiveness: You will develop situational awareness of current collections-based practices, debates and critical issues surrounding the cultural, museum and galleries sectors, including knowledge of institutional and curatorial strategies, and specific organisational roles within these sectors and institutions.
Communication: By articulating ideas and information in visual, oral and written form about current issues and debates in the cultural, museums and galleries sectors, you will become a more effective communicator. In developing both formative work and summative assessments for this course, you will learn to use appropriate communication styles relevant to your chosen project, carefully considering institutional frameworks and audience engagement. |
| Keywords | Collecting,Curating,Curatorial,Curatorship,Collections,Methods |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Angeliki Roussou
Tel:
Email: angeliki.roussou@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Rian Matsui
Tel:
Email: rmatsui@ed.ac.uk |
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