Cultural Heritage and Resource Management

The aim of this module is to systematically analyse the variety of cultural heritage (archaeological sites, buildings, objects, landscapes and intangible heritage) from around the world, examining what cultural heritage means to ordinary people, investigating its history and exploring the theoretical debates that frame the concept. The unit will also cover a wide range of subjects relevant to working in the heritage/ resource management sector, with an emphasis on the use and role of digital media in heritage, the process of learning in heritage interpretation and also developing strong professional knowledge and skills.

In addition to developing the particular knowledge relating to given field of investigation, postgraduate students need both to reflect on the nature of that discipline, to identify its place in the range of human areas of intellectual investigation, to identify particular methods and skills relevant to their disciple from a wide range of methods and skills, to develop those skills and to begin their implementation in a significant and agreed topic of research. Students also use information technology to create bibliographies, make appropriate use of online resources, and to access research materials; they explore appropriate modes of research‐topic identification, hypothesis formation, and methodology selection; they practice techniques for moving from note taking, and data‐collection to the outlining, sectioning, writing‐up and presentation of the research project materials.

In this module local and national issues in cultural heritage and management, which have been outlined in the introductory module, are placed within a more international context. Special attention attaches to the history and development of CHM and museum strategies across the western world and the developing world. Legislation, protection and national debates and problems in CHM are discussed using a case study approach and with lecturers who have experience drawn from across the world and from a range of disciplines (museums, education, conservation, archaeology). Special attention is paid to indigenous peoples’ rights, heritage and genocide, social justice, social memory and representation, and complex and advanced ethical issues are critiques and discussed, and approaches to de-colonisation of heritage practice are foregrounded here.

As well as caring for and presenting sites and collections to the public, heritage organisations also operate as businesses. They have to work to budgets, project manage, and plan for their futures, as well as comply with the law and local and national strategic policies. Heritage organisations also have their own sector specific management issues. Students will link theory to practical examples, and will work through the unit towards creating a document such as a forward plan which brings together budgets and sector specific knowledge to create a detailed report. They will gain a wide range of transferable skills that will be relevant to working in heritage and many other jobs in the private, public and third sectors.

The placement forms a vital component of this programme and enables you to gain valuable experience within the heritage sector. Placements are equivalent to 196 hours of study and are undertaken typically in the second semester (full time students) and in the second semester of year two for part-time students. The module is assessed formatively by ongoing diaries and blogs and a final report which encourages you to critically assess your own personal development. It is important that all parties read, understand and sign off the agreement which formally sets the term of reference for the placement, and that the terms of the most recent University Policy on work-based learning volunteering and placements is fully adhered to.

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) maintains lists of both World Heritage Sites (i.e. tangible cultural heritage such as Stonehenge, and the Pyramids) and Intangible Heritage. UNESCO states that cultural heritage includes traditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants, such as oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts. This module will explore intangible cultural heritage as an important factor in maintaining cultural diversity in the face of growing globalisation and, through a series of case studies, will look at the varied ways in which intangible heritage is practised and performed around the world.

Students will pursue independent study and research, culminating in a dissertation of between 19,000 and 21,000 words. This is the equivalent of three taught modules and will involve detailed input and support by a named supervisor appointed mid-way through semester one as part of the Research methods and skills module.