MA Museums, Heritage and Material Culture Studies (2019 entry)

Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings

Start of programme: September

Mode of Attendance: Full-time or Part-time

Who is this programme for?:

The programme is ideal for students wishing to pursue a career in the museum, heritage and arts sectors with a focus on non-Western art and culture, and both tangible and intangible heritage. It will suit practicing museum and heritage professionals who are interested in strengthening their knowledge of contemporary debates in critical museology, critical heritage studies and material culture studies. With its interdisciplinary focus, it will suit students interested in broadening their expertise across anthropology, art history and archaeology. It will also provide an excellent postgraduate foundation for students interested in pursuing PhD research concerned with museums, heritage, and material/visual culture in Asian, African, Middle Eastern and transnational/transcultural contexts.

This interdisciplinary programme brings together anthropological, art historical and archaeological perspectives to explore the interconnecting fields of museums, heritage and material culture studies. The MA disprivileges Western museum and heritage discourses and practices, and explores tangible and intangible cultural heritage as spheres of global interaction. 

The MA will equip students with a theoretically-informed critical understanding of museums, heritage and material/visual culture. Taught across the Department of Anthropology and School of Arts, the MA provides a unique opportunity to learn about current debates in World Art and World Heritage, combining ethnographic, art historical and archaeological approaches. 

Students will be introduced to a wide range of thematic and theoretical issues, and will have the opportunity to curate a small exhibition in the Curating Cultures module, and put into practice anthropological research techniques in the Ethnographic Research Methods course. 

Situated in London’s ‘Museum Mile’, a few hundred meters from the British Museum, and with its own Brunei Gallery, SOAS provides a unique environment in which to study the cultural heritage of Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Student Profile - Mansi Rao

"With a background in architecture and a research career in the field of traditional built environments and crafts, I had always looked out for an appropriate postgraduate degree until I discovered the MA Museums, Heritage and Material Culture Studies at SOAS. The programme, with its interdisciplinary approach, is unique and offers both theoretical learning and hands-on experience instilled through working with museums and their collections. This, combined with the academic support of my tutors, has provided the perfect balance to develop new skills, which I can take back and enhance my work at the Design, Innovation and Craft Resource Centre at CEPT University, India and to prepare for a PhD which I hope to pursue in the near future. The intimate and informal environment at SOAS has allowed me to feel at home and the School’s strong value system has shaped me as an individual at diverse levels."  

Dr Maria Kostoglou is a Lecturer in Curating and Museology and the co-convenor of the MA in Museums, Heritage and Material Culture Studies.  She explains why SOAS is an ideal venue for researching Museum Studies.

How did you become interested in Museum and Heritage Studies?

I studied archaeology at BA level and specialised in ancient metalwork (MPhil and PhD). My interest in the subject developed through my professional experiences with the museum and heritage sectors mainly as a curator and researcher dealing with the everyday challenges of museum work but also thinking about the purpose and the future of it.

What does the course involve?

The MA in Museums, Heritage and Material Culture Studies involves the study of history, theory and practice in all three areas from diverse perspectives with a focus on non-Western art and culture, and both tangible and intangible heritage.

Students always enjoy the hands-on practical sessions in modules like Curating Cultures that is based on the preparation of group exhibitions at the Lady David Gallery (which is our in-house teaching gallery space with fitted display cabinets.) Similarly, they love working with original artefacts as part of our collaboration with the National Maritime Museum and meeting up with professional curators, conservators, and outreach officers from well-known institutions in London.

What kind of students will the course appeal to?

With its interdisciplinary focus, it will suit students interested in broadening their expertise across anthropology, art history and archaeology; it also provides solid training to students who are interested in working within the museum and heritage sector, as well with cultural industries broadly defined. It is suitable for professionals who are looking to further or update their academic and practical skills.

The typical student is motivated and engaged, multilingual, often with a first degree in art history, archaeology, anthropology but also in education, media, architecture or design. Often, with some working or volunteering experience in the museum or heritage sector.

What facilities are available?

Ideally situated at the heart of the University of London, in close proximity to the British Library, the British Museum, the Petrie Museum and others.  Students benefit from the exceptional archives held within the SOAS Library, the teaching collections of artefacts at SOAS galleries, and the exhibition programmes of the Brunei Gallery, which are all on their doorstep.  

What is special about the course at SOAS?

The MA in Museums, Heritage and Material Cultural Studies uniquely combines academic expertise in the study of museums and heritage with regional material culture studies of Asia, Africa and the Middle East.  The structure of the programme balances core/compulsory modules with optional modules available across the departments of Anthropology and the School of Arts.

Can you recommend a good book to read on Museum and Heritage Studies?

Museums, Ethics and Cultural Heritage by B. L. Murphy (ed), ICOM- Routledge.

What do students do after graduating?

Our graduates aim to work within the museum and heritage sector, seek careers in cultural industries, and the charity/philanthropic sectors; graduates with strong analytical research skills pursue PhDs or other research positions.

What is the most important piece of advice you’d give to a student considering a career in Museum and Heritage Studies?

Make the most out of learning and training opportunities around you; build up a support network; and bring your passion and enthusiasm to work. 

The programme consists of 180 credits in total: 120 credits of modules and a dissertation of 10,000 words at 60 credits.

All students are expected to take the core and compulsory modules listed below.

Students are advised to take one or both of the recommended modules listed below or may wish to select from the Department of Anthropology and Sociology or the School of Arts (Departments of Centre for Media Studies, History of Art and Archaeology or Music) options lists.

The remaining credits can be selected from the Department of Anthropology and Sociology list or the School of Arts options.  See below for a detailed programme structure.

Programme Detail

Dissertation

Students must complete a Dissertation (10,000 words)

Taught Component

Core Module

Compulsory Modules

AND

Choose a module(s) from Postgraduate Open Options to the value of 15 credits, or from the list of options below to the value of 15 credits.

AND

Choose the two recommended modules below:

OR

Choose one of these modules and a 15-credit module from the Anthropology and Sociology list or a 15-credit module from the School of Arts list below

OR

30 credits worth of modules from the Anthropology and Sociology list and/or from the School of Arts list below

List of Modules (subject to availability)

Anthropology and Sociology

School of Arts

This is the structure for applicants for the year shown above

Programme Specification

• MA Museums, Heritage and Material Culture Studies Programme Specifications 2019/20 (pdf; 103kb)

Important notice

Teaching & Learning

Students taking the MA in Museums, Heritage and Material Culture Studies will have the opportunity to achieve:

• A critical awareness of contemporary theoretical debates in museum studies, cultural heritage studies, and material/visual culture studies;
• A familiarity with the distinctive contributions of anthropology, art history and archaeology to these interdisciplinary fields;
• A critical awareness of World Art/World Cultures/World Heritage, with an emphasis on SOAS’s regional specialisms (Asia, Africa and the Middle East) as well as transnational/diasporic contexts;
• An understanding of ethnographic approaches to tangible and intangible heritage research;
• Experience of object-based knowledge and museological research methods.

Contact Hours

All Masters programmes consist of 180 credits, made up of taught modules of 30 or 15 credits, taught over 10 or 20 weeks, and a dissertation of 60 credits. The programme structure shows which modules are compulsory and which optional.

As a rough guide, 1 credit equals approximately 10 hours of work. Most of this will be independent study, including reading and research, preparing coursework, revising for examinations and so on. It will also include class time, which may include lectures, seminars and other classes. Some subjects, such as learning a language, have more class time than others. At SOAS, most postgraduate modules have a one hour lecture and a one hour seminar every week, but this does vary.

More information is on the page for each module.

Knowledge:

Acquisition of Programme Learning Outcomes (above) through participation in the core modules, Museums, Heritage and Material Cultures Studies over two terms, including attending lectures, seminars and other teaching sessions. Students are required to attend all classes, study and engage in library and online research extensively on their own, and prepare coursework or complete research projects each term. Most modules are assessed by essay and project work, and some by exam and slide test. 

The programme provides for a detailed analysis of key debates regarding the interpretation of the role of museums, heritage and material culture around the world, historically and in the present. The core module, Museums, Heritage and Material Cultures Studies, combined with the two required modules - Theoretical Approaches to Social Anthropology and Approaches to Critical Interpretation and Aesthetic Theory - as well as the two recommended half-unit option modules, Curating Cultures and Ethnographic Research Methods, provides the variety needed to understand the complexity of the issues involved in the fields of museum studies, heritage studies and material/visual culture studies. 

The two-term core module and the two two-term compulsory modules provide broad understandings of traditions, methodologies and debates in anthropology, art history and archaeology, while the shorter option modules deal with more practical issues, including processes of curating non-Western material and ethnographic research methodologies. The option module, Curating Cultures, in particular, provides an in-depth knowledge of the practical, intellectual and ethical issues involved in the interpretation and display of the SOAS teaching collections, and culminates in student-led, group exhibitions in the Lady David Gallery. Here, students will gain knowledge of practices and issues arising from researching, interpreting and displaying SOAS’s collections from Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The option module, Ethnographic Research Methods, includes various practical sessions (e.g., on interview technique and research design) and short fieldwork assignments to generate critical awareness among students of their own observational and data recording processes. 

Students are also encouraged through modules in the Department of Anthropology and the School of Arts to move beyond their core area of interests and explore other options. 

Intellectual (thinking) skills:

Acquisition of Programme Learning Outcomes (above) is fostered in all modules offered in the programme, in that modules will introduce theories and/or information that will need to be assessed critically and engaged with in essay and dissertation writing, exams, slide tests, research project work and seminar presentations. The programme emphasises active learning processes, such as seminar/tutorial discussions and debates, and guided group fieldtrip sessions to museums and heritage sites in London and elsewhere. For skills-based option modules, students work on team-based portfolios, exhibitions, interviews, and presentations. 

Subject-based practical skills:

The programme will develop the skills needed for further independent research, writing and thinking in relation to museums, heritage and material culture studies. Students will engage with the study of museums, heritage and material culture in a global perspective, through seminar and class discussions, group-based project work, and the writing of long essays and a dissertation. 

The recommended option module Curating Cultures provides a range of hands-on, vocational skills training in object interpretation, exhibition development, text and label-writing, case design and collections management. It will appeal to students wishing to gain academic and professional knowledge of the field of curating. The Ethnographic Research Methods recommended option develops skills in ethnographic research methods and project design. It puts into practice anthropological research techniques, and includes practical sessions on interview techniques, observation and data recording. 

Transferable skills:

• the capacity to express their own ideas orally, visually and in writing, to summarise
• the arguments of others, and to distinguish between the two
• independence of thought and analytical, critical and synoptic skills
• research skills in collecting and collating primary and secondary data
• communication and presentation skills (using oral, visual and written materials and information technology)
• the ability to make a structured argument, reference the works of others, and
• assess historical evidence
• time, planning and management skills
• the ability to engage, where appropriate, in constructive discussion in group situations and to work constructively and productively in groups
• independent learning and critical thinking
• a reflexive approach to cultural assumptions and premises developed
• through a deep understanding of other ways of being in the world
• the ability to recognise and challenge ethnocentric assumptions

 Overall, graduates of this programme will gain a range of critical, theoretical and practical skills suitable for those seeking employment as professionals in museums, cultural and heritage organisations in Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. It will also provide an excellent postgraduate foundation for students interested in pursuing PhD research concerned with museums, heritage, and material/visual culture in Asian, African, Middle Eastern and transnational/transcultural contexts.

Tuition Fees

Full details of postgraduate tuition fees can be found on the Registry's Postgraduate Tuition Fees page.

This is a Band 1 tuition fee.

Fees for 2019/20 entrants. The fees below are per academic year. Please note that fees go up each year. 

Scholarships

For further details and information on external scholarships visit the Scholarships section

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