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Unit of study_

MHST6901: Museum and Heritage: History and Theory

2025 unit information

The historical, cultural and social roles of museums, heritage places and collections are the focus of contemporary debate. This unit examines the relationships between the production of cultural material, its management and display, and audience to understand museum and heritage sites as places of knowledge, politics and power. Current critical and theoretical perspectives incorporate ideas about the production, consumption, contestation and conservation of intangible values, identities, memories, cultural practices and different knowledge systems.

Unit details and rules

Managing faculty or University school:

Arts and Social Sciences

Study level Postgraduate
Academic unit Art History
Credit points 6
Prerequisites:
? 
None
Corequisites:
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None
Prohibitions:
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MUSM7033
Assumed knowledge:
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None

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. have a body of knowledge about the history of the museum and about the development of heritage as a field of knowledge and practice
  • LO2. engage in and understand contemporary debates in museum and heritage studies
  • LO3. demonstrate a critical understanding of the role of museums and heritage in society.

Unit availability

This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.

The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.

Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2024
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2025
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Outline unavailable
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2020
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2021
Normal day Remote
Semester 1 2022
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2022
Normal day Remote
Semester 1 2023
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2023
Normal day Remote

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Modes of attendance (MoA)

This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.