Project Development March 2003

The department at Kingston was in the process of reviewing the structure of the History of art, architecture and design history BA when it became involved with the GLAADH project. A new BA course in Visual and Material Culture is currently being developed for validation in March 2003. With curriculum change already in progress, the department's involvement with GLAADH was very timely. The impetus to change the curriculum came in part from reorganisation of the current and new BA, but also from students who come from diverse ethnic groups. Studio students in particular were aware of, and pressed, the need to engage with more culturally diverse topics. Staff members have found that taking a team approach to teaching has helped to generate debate and retain focus which has helped to imbed cultural diversity more thoroughly. This approach also avoids a dependence on individual staff members, facilitating a longer term strategy that can accommodate staff changes as well as ensuring that a wider theoretical and regional coverage becomes central rather than peripheral to the curriculum.

The methodological approach adopted in the new curriculum design marks a shift away from the presentation of information to a consideration of issues. For example the History of Decorative Arts course, which followed a chronological study of decorative arts styles and movements, has been taken off the curriculum and the material has been re-used in new thematic courses. The Renaissance Art courses have also been modified to revolve around topics such as Court, Body, and Patronage etc. 5 courses have been revised including the first year introduction to art, architecture and design history. These are being taught in semester one and two, 2002-3. Examples of change include the Modernisms and Postmodernisms course, which now covers issues of national identity and takes a comparative approach, considering globalisation and regionalism, focusing on the city as an object of analysis. The Fashioning Gender and Identity course encompasses advertising, fashion, and film, and encourages students to introduce materials relevant to them. Overall, sessions are becoming more discussion and workshop based, and seeking to draw on the differing visual heritage of the students,

In addition, 2 new courses engaging and criss-crossing visual and material contexts are being developed: Object Analysis and Exploring Contexts, which will be taught in semester two of this year (Jan 2003). The latter course consists of eight museum and gallery visits in an eleven-week course, structured by a systematic and focused re-engagement with resources. These visits draw both on London-based venues, such as inIVA, the Museum of London, the Imperial War Museum, as well as the lesser-known local Kingston Museum, Dorich House, and the University Picker Gallery. Other sites, such as the local Bentall Shopping Centre, which started life as an early twentieth century department store, also offer opportunities to explore issues revolving around (the history of) consumption at a ground level.

The Curating Contemporary Design MA (in partnership with the Design Museum) has been modified to build on issues of collecting and representing art and objects from other cultures. The vocational aspect of the course also necessitates that students have an understanding of curatorial developments in museums and galleries; issues such as widening access, claims to ownership of objects, and active collecting policies. Two members of staff have been involved in organising a joint conference with the British Museum called 'Collecting Now'. Spurred on by the drive to diversify the curriculum, they have pushed to include topics within the conference which move beyond Europe and North America. These papers have been offered to the GLAADH website following the event.

GLAADH has helped to buy out staff time to develop course materials and resources as well as contributing towards purchasing images. Modules that are no longer dependent on an individual's expertise now offer flexibility in relation to students' needs, and adaptability in terms of staff and research interests. While some mature students have found the approach "unusual", student questionnaires has confirmed feedback on last semester's modules as positive. One result of the renewed interest in resources is the development of an online resource for staff and students for which the department is in the process of applying for University funding. However, a major problem has been the time spent sourcing images for Fashioning Gender and Identity course and sessions on the City for Modernisms and Postmodernisms, for which the repertoire tends to be limited, repetitive or of low quality.

The team approach at Kingston has ensured consistent and successful changes across the curriculum, which has led to other outcomes in the form of invitations to talk about the GLAADH project and its relevance to Art and Design Colleges at other institutions, such as the London College of Fashion.

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