MC2/3OA Object Analysis and Museum Interpretation

Autumn term 2010 Museum of English Rural Life Rebecca Reynolds r.m.reynolds@reading.ac.uk

The aims of this module

This module is a practical exploration of the object analysis and interpretation skills used in modern museums. Material culture is all around us, yet few people know how to analyse and interpret its meaning to others. The first half of this module explores the methods used by museum professionals to analyse objects. The second half of the module discusses the ways in which museums construct stories for objects and communicate these stories with their visitors. The other aim of this module is to develop students research skills. While the module will include library based study students will also learn how to use primary resources such as photographs, archival documents and artefacts to conduct research. The Museum of English Rural Life and its collections will be the focus for this research. This module teaches some of the skills used by curators but it is not intended to be a vocational course. If you would like to gain more practical experience to complement your theoretical knowledge then ask about volunteering with the University collections. Intended learning outcomes: Assessable outcomes By the end of this module it is expected that students will be able: - To analyse a range of museum objects. - To critique different styles of interpretation in relation to broader theoretical issues. - To use other objects and archival resources to research and interpret a specific object. - To assess the impact of practical concerns, such as conservation and collections management, on issues of interpretation and access.

Module design
This module was designed as part of the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in Applied Undergraduate Research Skills (CETL-AURS). The teaching and assignments are all designed to help you to take control of your own learning and research. The module is designed around something called Enquiry-Based Learning (EBL). At different points throughout the term you will be set real-world scenarios which you will work on in a group. You will be arranged in research groups and will discuss your findings in seminars. I will be there to give you some guidance and there will be sessions with other staff to help you with your research - so dont worry you are not on your own! You will be marked only on your individually submitted work and the assignment details in this handbook let you know what you are expected to hand in. However, the quality of this will depend on the research you do as a group. There is a student guide to EBL on the Blackboard site which will let you know more about this process. There will be a discussion in the first seminar of term. If at any point you have any concerns about this process please let me know. There will be lectures which will introduce you to some of the main concepts but we try to make them as interactive as possible so make sure you show up ready to get involved in discussions and activities. These modules are assessed via the Department of Archaeology so all assignments should be submitted to their office using their cover sheets. If due to unforeseen circumstances you are unable to complete the assignment on time please contact your personal tutor and apply for an extension. Please note that your extension will have to be agreed by Archaeology regardless of which department you are in. The Blackboard site has a range of useful resources to help you with your research and discussion boards where everybody can talk.

Assignments
Task 1: Wagon Wars Unassessed There will be a practice task to allow get you used to working with collections. Task 2: MERL Cataloguing Project Catalogue entry 15% As a group you will be assigned a set of similar objects which you will be asked to research. Each member of the group should submit a completed catalogue form for their specific object and 1000 word essay explaining their research findings to future researchers. This assignment should be submitted to the Archaeology Department by midday on Monday of week 6. A practical assignment cover sheet should be attached to the front. Task 3: Visionary Text Label 15% As a group you will come up with a guide to writing and designing accessible text. Each member of the group should apply this to a specific object (the one from Task 2) and submit a label and a 1000 word explanation of its design. This assignment should be submitted to the Archaeology Department by midday on Monday of week 8. A practical assignment cover sheet should be attached to the front. Task 4: Judging Exhibitions Oral presentation 10% You will be set an individual task to work on outside of class. Analyse a museum display using the Judging Exhibitions framework. You will be asked to give a 10 minute oral presentation on your findings in week 9. Task 5 Interpretation essay 60% As a group you will design a framework for designing exhibitions. Each member of the group should submit a 3000 word essay applying this framework to a specific object (the one from Task 2 and 3).

This assignment should be submitted to the Archaeology Department by midday on Friday of 10th week. An essay assignment cover sheet should be attached to the front.

Programme
Every week a lecture will introduce you to some of the current theory and practice in a specific area of museum display. Seminars will involve discussion of group research activity. Week 1: Anatomy of an exhibition How do curators know so much? Pick apart the process of designing an exhibition and explore the thorny issue of interpretation. Seminar: Introduction to EBL and start first non assessed practice task. Week 2: The secret lives of things One curator said in the case of a fire he would save all the accession files. Why might an object only be as good as its documentation? Seminar: Work on first task. Week 3: Telling stories with stuff We look beyond the basics and try to find out what an object means using our archive, book, photograph and sound collections. Seminar: Presentation of first task and reflection. Set second assessed task. Week 4: Material world What does it mean to read objects? Listen to different viewpoints and see what the Antiques Roadshow has to teach us. Seminar: Work on second task. Week 5: Looking beyond the frame We will examine the materiality of paintings, photographs and historical documents and discuss the issues surrounding their interpretation. Seminar: Discuss findings from second task. Set third task. Week 6: Design for learning Who are your visitors, what do you want them to learn and what are they actually learning? We discuss how to design exhibitions for lifelong learning.

Seminar: Work on third task. Deadline: Catalogue Entry and 1000 discussion of research by midday Monday of 6th week. Week 7: Putting it into practice We visit the Ure Museum to see object interpretation in practice and talk to the curator, Amy Smith. Seminar: Discuss findings from third task. Set fourth and fifth tasks. Week 8: Access for all Explore how new theory and policy on accessibility can help you to communicate with a wider audience and discuss some of the issues which this raises. Seminar: Work on fourth task. Deadline: Submit label and 1000 word explanation by midday Monday of 8th week. Week 9: The Poetic Museum Can current trends for story telling, interactivity and multi-vocal exhibitions re-engage the public with museums and galleries. Seminar: Work on fourth task Deadline: Oral presentations for fourth task Week 10: The state of the art Are accessible displays dumbing down? We will discuss some of the current debates surrounding the future of heritage interpretation. Seminar: Sum up work, discuss existing issues and reflect on process Deadline: 3000 word assignment on the interpretation of your object by midday of Friday 10th week.

Suggested Reading List

These books are all held in the MERL library and can be accessed for reference during the opening hours of the Joint Services Reading Room. You do not need to buy any of them as there is no one core text that will give you all the information you need. Some of the books are also available at the Reading University Library. Please register with the Reading Room and sign-in every time you use it so that we can accurately track how our facilities are being used. Key texts Ambrose, T. & C. Paine 2006 (2nd ed) Museum basics. London: Routledge Belcher M. 1991. Exhibitions in Museums. London: Leicester University Press Black, G. 2005. The Engaging Museum: An Interpretive Approach to Visitor Involvement. Routledge: London. Dean, D. 1994 Museum Exhibition: Theory and Practice. London: Routledge Pearce, S. 1994. Interpreting Objects and Collections. London: Routledge. Serrell, B. 2006 Judging Exhibitions: A Framework for Assessing Excellence. Left Coast Press, CA, USA. Thompson, JMA 1992 (2nd ed) Manual of Curatorship. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. General Museum Studies MacDonald S. 1996. Theorizing Museums: an introduction. In Theorizing Museums, ed. SGF MacDonald, pp. 1-20. Oxford: Blackwells MacDonald S. 2006. Expanding Museum Studies: an introduction. In A companion to museum studies, ed. S MacDonald. London: Blackwell Collections Care Fahy, A. 1995 Collections Management. London:Routledge Knell, S. 1994 Care of Collections. London: Routledge Two dimensional material culture Pointon M. 1992. History of Art: A Student's handbook. London: Routledge

Information on how to use archival resources and includes an online palaeography online tutorial http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ Resources on using archives to study genealogy but can be applied to archival research in general http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/familyhistory/ National Film Archives http://www.bfi.org.uk/nftva/ AHRC guide to conducting research using film archives http://www.movinghistory.ac.uk/ Three dimensional material culture MacLeod S. 2005. Rethinking museum architecture: towards a sitespecific history of production and use. In Reshaping Museums Space: architecture, design, exhibitions, ed. S MacLeod, pp. 925. London: Routledge O'Hanlon MEH. 1995. The Anthropology of Landscape: perspectives on space and place Batchelor R. 1994. Not looking at kettles. In Interpreting Objects and Collections, ed. S Pearce, pp. 139-43. London: Routledge Deetz JESD. 1994. Death's head, cherub, urn and willow. In Interpreting Objects and Collections, ed. S Pearce, pp. 30-7. London: Routledge Shanks, M. & C. Tilley 1992. Chapter on Beer Can analysis. ReConstructing Archaeology: Theory and Practice. Routledge: London. Material Culture Studies A Appadurai, The Social Life of Things: commodities in cultural perspective, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Elliott Rea. 1994. Towards a material history methodology. In Interpreting Objects and Collections, ed. S Pearce, pp. 109-24. London: Routledge Miller D. 1994. Things ain't what they used to be. In Interpreting Objects and Collections, ed. S Pearce, pp. 13-8. London: Routledge

Pearce S. 1994a. Behavioural interaction with objects. In Interpreting Objects and Collections, ed. S Pearce, pp. 38-40. London: Routledge Pearce S. 1994b. Interpreting Objects. In Interpreting Objects and Collections, ed. S Pearce, pp. 9-11. London: Routledge Pearce S. 1994d. Museum Objects. In Interpreting Objects and Collections, ed. S Pearce, pp. 9-11. London: Routledge Pearce S. 1994e. Objects as meaning: or narrating the past. In Interpreting Objects and Collections, ed. S Pearce, pp. 19-29. London: Routledge Pearce S. 1994f. Thinking about things. In Interpreting Objects and Collections, ed. S Pearce, pp. 125-32. London: Routledge Prown J. 1994. Mind in matter: an introduction to material culture theory and method. In Interpreting Objects and Collections, ed. S Pearce, pp. 133-8. London: Routledge Shuh, J.H. 1999. Teaching yourself to teach with objects. In The Educational Role of the Museum, ed. Eilean Hooper Greenhill pp, 80-91. London: Routledge Thomas N. 1991. Entangled Objects: Exchange, Material Culture and Colonialism. Boston: Harvard University Press Tilley C. 1994. Interpreting material culture. In Interpreting Objects and Collections, ed. S Pearce, pp. 67-75. London: Routledge Museum Interpretation Falk and Dierking 1992 The Museum Experience Washington: Whalesback Gurian EH. 2005. Threshold fear. In Reshaping Museums Space: architecture, design, exhibitions, ed. S MacLeod, pp. 203-14. London: Routledge Hooper-Greenhill E. 1994. The Educational Role of the Museum. London: Routledge Kavanagh G. 1991. Museum Languages: Objects and Texts. London: Leicester University Press Pearce, S.M. 1992. Museums: the Intellectual Rationale. In Museums, Objects and Collections: a cultural study. Leicester: Leicester University Press.

Riegel H. 1996. Into the heart of irony: ethnographic collections and the politics of difference. In Theorizing Museums, ed. SGF MacDonald, pp. 83-104. Oxford: Blackwells Waterfield, G. 1991 Palaces of Art: Art Galleries in Britain 17901990. London: Humphries Further Blockley H. Heritage Interpretation Text As many of the articles on text are hard to find we have created a text folder for students to consult in the reading room. See also selected articles on reading age, Ekarv and accessible text in Hooper-Greenhill E. 1994. The Educational Role of the Museum. London: Routledge