131-290 Exhibiting Histories and Cultures: Museums, Objects, Spectacles

Note

Available as 131-390 at 3rd-year level.

Credit Points

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Semester

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Subject Description

This subject traces the historical development from the late eighteenth century of Western practices of exhibiting familiar and non-familiar cultures, ranging from the public spectacles of monarchy, to international expositions, and with a focus on material culture and the role of museums. It investigates the roles of emergent disciplines (e.g. ethnography) and technologies (e.g. photography) in authorising and popularising exhibits of 'other' societies, particularly in the context of European colonialism; the cultural politics of collecting; concepts of tradition, heritage and nostalgia in public representations of the past; the exhibition of indigenous cultures; the ways collecting and exhibiting practices create and maintain ideologies of racial, class and gender differences; and the Internet and the 'virtual museum'. A range of visual and written texts, methodologies and theoretical frameworks will be examined.

Assessment

An orally delivered class paper (10%); one 1500 word exhibition review (30%); one 3000 word research essay (60%).