ECTS - University of Pisa
| Modules | Area | Type | Hours | Teacher(s) | |
| MUSEOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF EGYPTOLOGY | L-OR/02 | LEZIONI | 36 |
|
In-class Research Presentation
The students will select a research topic for a paper, on a subject of their choice as it relates to the course. They will present the paper to the class. They will be assessed based on clarity, research, as well as merit of the 10-minute oral presentation.
Final Paper (15 pages)
For their final paper the students may choose any topic related to the themes of this course, falling within its historical parameter. The students are encouraged to select as topic that is narrow and feasible enough to be addressed in maximum 15 pages.
The students will acquire the intellectual tools to address the main ethical issues and challenges of museums and they will form their own idea on how to build a sustainable context for cultural heritage.
They will develop critical thinking tools to face the challenges related to the management of museums, including issues about cultural legitimacy, cultural colonialism, ethics and sustainability.
Oral presentation by the students during classes and final paper.
Students are expected to be engaged in discussions and debates, guided by the instructor.
The participation in discussions, based on readings and visits, is a must.
Participation in discussions forms a vital part of the course.
Students should be prepared to discuss as well as to participate in group activities.
They are expected to complete readings in advance of class attendance, and to participate and contribute to discussion.
No prerequisites are needed.
Lectures
The lectures will provide historical knowledge, highlight the intellectual contexts of the required readings, spell out key concepts and outline analytical implications.
Classroom discussions on readings and visits
Students are expected to be engaged in discussions and debates, guided by the instructor. The participation in discussions, based on readings and visits, is a must.
Papers on assigned topics
Students will write one individual paper based on the course readings and the experience made on the field.
Individual presentation
Students will be asked to give a public presentation, providing a critical evaluation of the proposed topic.
Museum collections are often perceived as static entities hidden away in storerooms or trapped behind showcases. By focusing on the dynamic histories of museum collections, new research reveals their pivotal role in shaping a wide range of social relations. Over time and across space the interactions between these artefacts and the people and institutions who made, traded, collected and exhibited them have generated complex networks of material and social agency. This class will draw on a broad range of source materials to explore the cross-cultural interactions which have created museum collections.
As European nation-states came of age in the nineteenth century, museums and archaeology played critical roles in constructing each nation’s ideas of its distinctive heritage and identity. A theoretical overview of those historical elements will be at the basis of a more conscious reflection on the role of contemporary museums, both in Europe and in the Gulf area. How museums deal with their history? How to define their identity? What is their future? How should a museum tackle ethical issues?
Recommended textbooks
At the end of the course the students will give a presentation and write a paper on a topic of their choice. The broad bibliography here listed covers the variety of subjects that will be presented during classes and the students are required to read part of the books before classes according to a schedule that will be given during our first meeting.
Macdonald, A Companion to Museum Studies, Wiley-Blackwell, 2011
Bernice L. Murphy (edited by), Museums, Ethics and cultural heritage, Routledge, 2017, chapters 1,2,5,10,12,20,21,30,32, appendix I, appendix II,
Non attending students are required to get in touch with the lecturer (christian.greco@museoegizio.it) to get further instructions.
Partecipation in discussion forms a vital part of the course. The students should be prepared to discuss. By the middle of the class term the students should select a research topic for the final paper and for the in class presentation.
The paper will be graded paying attention to the following elements: familiarity with the topic, critical thinking, independent thinking, ability to read and understand literature, ability to write accurately on an academic topic in a rigorous manner.
Classes will start on Monday, April 29th.
Timetable:
MUSEOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF EGYPTOLOGY
Final paper:
Please get in touch with the Lecturer (christian.greco@museoegizio.it)
Deadline to provide the final paper:
8 July 2024 --> Evaluation on 19 July 2024
22 July 2024 --> Evaluation on 31 July 2024
20 September 2024 --> Evaluation on 27 September 2024
