Unit information: Art and Antiquities on Show. in 2009/10

Unit name	Art and Antiquities on Show.
Unit code	CLASM1003
Credit points	20
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Kate Nichols
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	none
Co-requisites	none
School/department	Department of Classics & Ancient History
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

When and why did it become important that ancient and modern sculpture and painting should be put on show to the general public? What impact does the exhibition of a sculpture or painting have on its status? And how did the evolution of the museum and art gallery help constitute the nascent disciplines of art history and classical archaeology? This unit addresses the debates surrounding display in nineteenth-century Britain. It assesses recent discussions in museum studies and debates their application to a nineteenth-century context. Institutions to be examined include the British Museum, the V&A, the National Gallery, the Great Exhibition and the Crystal Palace, Whitechapel Gallery and Sir John Soane's museum. The unit is aimed at classics and ancient history students interested in the reception of classical sculpture, and art history students interested in the nineteenth-century social and cultural context of painting and sculpture.

The aims of this unit are to:

• Develop students skills in the analysis and interpretation of the display of ancient and modern material in a range of museum and gallery settings

• Familiarise students with a range of contemporary approaches to museum studies relevant to the display of sculpture and painting, and allow them to apply these approaches (where appropriate) to individual case studies

• Develop students skills in assessing the role of display and public engagement in our understanding of the history of art works

• Through seminar discussions and independent reading, develop students skills in constructing arguments based upon findings in nineteenth-century and secondary sources

• Through presentation and essay writing, develop students skills in advanced oral and written presentation of arguments.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of this unit, students will have:

• developed skills in the analysis and interpretation of the display of ancient and modern material in a range of museum and gallery settings

• become familiar with a range of contemporary approaches to museum studies relevant to the display of sculpture and painting and be able to apply these approaches (where appropriate) to individual case studies

• developed skills in assessing the role of display and public engagement in our understanding of the history of art works

• through seminar discussions and independent reading, developed their skills in constructing arguments based upon findings in nineteenth-century and secondary sources

• through presentation and essay writing, developed their skills in advanced oral and written presentation of arguments.

Teaching Information

Seminar based, with some guided museum visits.

Assessment Information

One essay of 4000 words.

Reading and References

• Bennett, T. The birth of the museum: history, theory, politics (London and New York, 1995).

• Carbonell, B.M. (ed.) Museum Studies. An anthology of contexts (Oxford, 2004).

• Karp, I. and Lavine, S. Exhibiting Cultures (Washington DC and London, 1991).

• Pointon, M (ed.) Art apart : art institutions and ideology across England and North America (Manchester, 1994).

• Siegel, J. (ed.), The Emergence of the Modern Museum. An anthology of nineteenth-century sources (Oxford, 2008)

• Whitehead, C. Museums and the construction of disciplines: Art and archaeology in nineteenth-century Britain (Duckworth, 2009).