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Unit of study_

MUSM7035: Ethics of Cultural Property

2025 unit information

This unit tracks the ethical and political disputes surrounding the ownership, control and care of cultural property. It begins by establishing historical attitudes towards cultural property which are then compared to current attempts to protect cultural heritage and regulate its movement. In doing so it considers how, more recently, museums have entered into dialogues with source communities about restitution and repatriation, new methods of display and ongoing relationships. The unit analyses numerous Australian and international case studies in order to define current models of best practice.

Unit details and rules

Managing faculty or University school:

Arts and Social Sciences

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

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

  • LO1. Understand the concepts and practices of the ethics and politics surrounding cultural property
  • LO2. Understand the politics of domestic and international museum practice regarding cultural property
  • LO3. Understand the current issues affecting museums, such as ownership, repatriation of material culture and human remains
  • LO4. Have developed a body of knowledge about the history of the museum and contemporary debates in museology
  • LO5. Examine the relationship between museums and indigenous groups.
  • LO6. Identify, access, organise and communicate knowledge in both written and oral English
  • LO7. Appreciate the requirements and characteristics of scholarship and research
  • LO8. Adopt a problem solving approach
  • LO9. Be capable of rigorous and independent thinking
  • LO10. Use information technology for professional and personal development

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 2 2021
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 2 2021
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)

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