MUSEUMS 702 : Inside the Museum

Arts

2023 Semester Two (1235) (15 POINTS)

Course Prescription

Provides a foundation in the best practices, critical issues, and the future of museology and introduces students to a variety of museum collection-based activities through experiential education at the Auckland War Memorial Museum/Tāmaki Paenga Hira.

Course Overview

This course provides a foundation in the everyday practices, critical issues, and the future of museology by introducing students to a variety of museum collection-based activities through experiential education on-site at Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum.  The course begins with a pōwhiri to welcome students to the museum, then the CEO presents his overview of Auckland Museum's management and governance. The application of He Kōrahi Māori (the Māori dimension) and Teu Le Va (the Pacific relationship) are explained by Māori and Pacific staff. The museum's role as a research institution, and museum values and ethics provide the content for the sessions in the first quarter of the course, and the first assignment is an analysis of museum policy and ethics. Natural History, Decorative Arts, Documentary History and Human History departments present on curatorship, and the conservators explain their role in repairing damaged objects. Students learn how to research the significance of an artefact in order to present a proposal for acquisition as their second assignment. In the third quarter of the course we visit Manu Taiko, the museum's off-site store in order to learn about preventive conservation, and how to make secure storage arrangements for collection items using nesting materials. The final part of the course introduces staff from the learning and engagement, public experience teams as well as collections management and loans, digital collections and photography which prepares students for their final assignment where they inhabit the role of one of these museum professionals in order to respond to a dilemma posed by a donation of artefacts to the institution.

This course has practical components to it where students are handling objects, making containers for them, analysing and researching them as well as moving around in the back-of-house areas of the museum so the numbers able to enrol in the course are limited based on how many are able to be safely accommodated. It is designed to complement the existing Museums and Cultural Heritage courses on offer at Honours level (MUSEUMS 704 Exhibiting Cultures: Māori and Indigenous Perspectives, ARTHIST 734 Art Writing and Curatorial Practice). It is unique in that it is taught solely at the Auckland Museum by museum staff. It offers an introduction to museum practice from a museum professional’s perspective, looking across the institution into different areas including group work, seminars, practical exercises and hands-on experiences in the Museum.

Course Requirements

No pre-requisites or restrictions

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 1: Disciplinary Knowledge and Practice
Capability 2: Critical Thinking
Capability 3: Solution Seeking
Capability 4: Communication and Engagement
Capability 5: Independence and Integrity
Capability 6: Social and Environmental Responsibilities

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Understand and critically evaluate the historical, social, political, economic and cultural significance of tangata whenua in Aotearoa/New Zealand and recognise the ongoing significance of Te Tiriti of Waitangi to contemporary museum practice (Capability 3.1, 4.2 and 6.1)
  2. Understand and explain theoretical and practical approaches to key aspects of museum work (Capability 1.1, 2.3 and 3.1)
  3. Work collaboratively and individually to accomplish practical tasks and show the capacity to work constructively as part of a team to achieve positive outcomes (Capability 3.2, 4.3, 5.2 and 6.3)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Case Studies 50% Individual Coursework
Assignment 50% Individual Coursework

Module

Week 1 Introduction to Auckland Museum 
Week 2 He Korahi Māori 
Week 3 Teu le Va 
Week 4 Museum Values and Ethics 
Week 5 Museum as a Research Institution 
Case Study One: An analysis of museum policy and ethics. 30%. 1,500 words.
Week 6 Curatorship in Museums 
MID-SEMESTER BREAK
Week 7 Curatorship in Museums 2 
Week 8 Public Experience 1
Case Study Two: Assignment 2 Significance Statement for an Acquisition Proposal 30% 1,500 words.
Week 9 Public Experience 2
Week 10 Collection Management 1 
Week 11 Collection Management 2 
Week 12 Collection Management 3

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect 2 hours of seminars, 5 hours of reading and thinking about the content and 3 hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation per week.

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

Attendance is required at scheduled activities including collection store visits to receive credit for the components of the course.
All learning activities including artefact assessments and practical preventive conservation exercises need to be completed on site and in person. Therefore the  activities for the course are scheduled as a two-hour class per week taught on-site at Auckland Museum.

This course is not available for delivery to students studying remotely outside NZ in 2023.

Learning Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

This course has been re-ordered to allow more time between the seminars and the due date for the final assignment on professional roles.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against online source material using computerised detection mechanisms.

Class Representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Well-being always comes first
We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - for more information, look at this Canvas page https://canvas.auckland.ac.nz/courses/33894, which has links to various support services in the University and the wider community.

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course students may be asked to submit coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.

Published on 01/11/2022 12:26 p.m.