Background

The department consists of five people with a new appointment to be made shortly. The department is committed to expanding the curriculum to include greater diversity, but feel that work should be done to revise existing modules rather than introduce a number of new modules in areas that staff feel they do not have the expertise. Motivation for this project arose in part from one member of staff's personal interest in and connection to an item of Native North American clothing held in the World Cultures collection at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter. Module revisions and the implementation of one new course will build on her prior research at the museum.

Aims and Objectives

This is a two-strand project:

1). Broaden two existing modules (at levels 1 and 3) toward more diverse topics. At level 1, the 'Myths of Primitivism' course will be extended to look at the ways in which cultures interact with one another. Questions will be raised concerning an object's status as 'art' within differing contextual settings of the originating culture and the collection or museum. The level 3 course 'Cultural Difference' will see the extension of case studies which explore art and identity, and offer attention to 20th century British art, and Native American art. Both courses will draw on the collections at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter, with a theoretical orientation similar to that of James Clifford's notion of museums as 'contact zones'.

2). Create a level 2 module with the provisional title 'Collecting and exhibiting cultures in the 19th century', using the World Cultures collection at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter. This new module will emphasise artistic culture in 19th century Africa, the Pacific and Native North America, focusing on the 'diaspora of objects' through the collecting of art by explorers, missionaries and colonial officials.

A pack with bibliographies, an outline of areas of the course and assessment examples will be provided to GLAADH for publication on the web-site for general use.

Resources

The main bulk of resources will be provided by the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter in the form of their collections.

Timescale

Groups Affected

Stephanie Pratt. The Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter. Art history students at levels 1, 2 and 3. The modules might also be opened up to students on the visual arts course.

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