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.

Presenting collections, objects and places to the public is a major focus for museums, galleries and heritage organisations. The development of interpretation strategies and public programs to engage, educate and entertain audiences are regarded as key to the long-term viability of cultural institutions. This unit examines the theories and practices of museum education, heritage interpretation, audience research, communication and learning. The development and delivery of education, interpretation and visitor programs are examined in case studies and through practical work.

How museum collections and heritage places are managed and listed is a core function of cultural institutions. From global contexts, such as World Heritage, to national, regional and local museum collections and heritage lists, understanding how objects and places are documented, assessed, and registered is important for both museum and heritage practice. This unit introduces students to the theories and practices of collection and heritage management through current issues in the development, policy and maintenance of cultural collections and places.

Objects and heritage places (such as indigenous sites, historical buildings, parks, gardens, ruins, archaeological sites, memorials, cultural landscapes) can be studied from a range of multi-disciplinary approaches. In this unit students are introduced to different theoretical and methodological frameworks used in object and place analysis. Changing ideas about the roles and meanings of objects and places from historical, contemporary and cross-cultural perspectives will be introduced. Practical work and case studies will used to examine these issues.

Globally, Indigenous peoples have challenged museums, heritage agencies and professional practitioners over issues of ownership, control, management, display and interpretation of Indigenous culture, history and cultural property. We will examine how Indigenous communities, scholars and practitioners are decolonising museum and heritage practices and spaces.

The laws, policies and charters governing heritage across the globe share some commonalities but there are also different national approaches to the philosophies and practices underlying heritage management. In this unit of study we will examine how heritage is documented, classified, identified, assessed and managed in different parts of the world through case studies and practical work.

How do different community groups create a sense of belonging and attachment to the historical and archaeological sites, memorials, protected areas, and landscapes they live in and around? How do communities create meaning and maintain identities through heritage places? What research methods and approaches are used in heritage studies to investigate these connections? In this unit of study students will be introduced to the research methods used to identify, document and assess social significance, intangible heritage, attachment and belonging.

Understanding display practices in museums is central to the functions of these cultural institutions. This unit of study examines the way in which exhibitions may function by exploring current issues and debates associated with the practice of exhibiting. We will consider how different spaces inform the interpretation of the cultural material and information displayed. In particular, we will examine the issue of representation as it relates to the museum context. This unit of study will provide students with an overview of the intellectual discourses and practical knowledge used to analyse, conceptualise, propose and develop exhibitions.

Good management is critical to the long-term survival of museums as vibrant cultural institutions. This unit of study explores the characteristics of a well managed facility providing students with the skills necessary to evaluate the operational context of museums, in terms of budget, human resource management and general cultural stewardship. The unit balances practical skill acquisition - in key management areas like strategic planning and project management - with a broader analysis of how the cultural sector is positioned in relation to government and other stakeholders.

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.

This unit investigates the current use and adoption of digital media across the museum and gallery sectors internationally. It considers how museums use digital technologies to augment the visitor experience spatially, intellectually and socially by developing digitally interactive exhibitions, online engagement tools and a social media presence. Combining field trips, workshops, seminars and guest speakers, this course is an opportunity to build critical understanding of diverse applications of technology in the museum context and practical skills in the development of digital engagement programs.

In contemporary society heritage is understood as a form of cultural practice and production that operates at local, national and global scales. Heritage has moved beyond the identification and conservation of 'things we want to keep' to incorporate ideas about intangible values, identity formation, the role of memory and different knowledge systems from critical and theoretical perspectives. This unit of study will examine how heritage is produced, consumed, negotiated and conserved through political processes, structures of governance and cultural practices.

The internship unit allows students to gain hands-on experience by undertaking a supervised project based in a recognised, gallery, museum or heritage or arts organisation. Projects are developed in close consultation with the institutions needs and the student's desired experience. The internship unit offers hands on experience of museums, heritage or cultural organisations and allows for a broadening of skills and expertise as well as an opportunity to gain an understanding of the relationship between theory and institutional practice.

The unit takes the form of an intensive 3 week Summer School based in Greece. Formal lectures are combined with visits to key ancient monuments and museums in Athens and Attica. The aim is to provide students with a vivid opportunity to explore at first hand the material culture of Athens in the sixth and fifth centuries BC and to develop an understanding of Athenian society during these two extraordinary centuries.

This unit introduces students to the history and current practices of the business of art through site visits, case studies and lectures. The unit includes the study of established and emerging art markets, auction houses, concepts of authenticity, aesthetic and monetary value, collecting and exhibiting art for private, corporate public and satellite art collections, artist run and alternative spaces, corporate sponsorship and grants, art museums and tourism, and the principles of law and ethics.

This unit of study introduces students to object-based skills and issues in the history of art. It considers issues and problems related to connoisseurship, conservation, display and interpretation in the context of museums and art galleries. The unit also provides an introduction to the materials and techniques of art production. Much of the material is presented on-site by curators of the Art Gallery of NSW.

This unit of study explores the art museum from its origins in Renaissance and Baroque princely and aristocratic collections, through to the creation of new public spaces and institutions for exhibiting art in the 18th and 19th centuries, including national Academies and international exhibitions. Shifting conceptions of the role of the art museum will be addressed: from public instruction to nation building and mass entertainment. The final section explores current debates, including those posed by an expanding range of new media and changing audience perceptions.

This unit engages with the special collections of the Mitchell Library, which is renowned as a repository for both Australasian art works and the historical documentation that supports them. Integrating the practical and scholarly elements of art history and art curatorship, it provides hands-on training in combining visual analysis with primary research. Relevant issues include the relationship of object and text, the comparison of contemporary perspectives with historical records, and the reliability of primary and secondary sources.

The unit engages students with the particular sensitivities and protocols involved in caring for historic and contemporary collections of Indigenous art and culture in Australia and overseas. Shifts in the balance of cultural power have compelled many museums to critically reflect on the way that Indigenous collections and objects are stored, handled, interpreted and displayed and this unit will examine the theories and methodologies of Indigenising museums.

Students will study the changing role of the curator from traditional contexts in the art museum to contemporary art spaces, public sites, globalized and virtual settings. We examine the curator's increasingly creative role when traditional art hierarchies are radically challenged and divisions of artistic and curatorial labour become blurred.

This unit examines cultural policy across a range of sectors such as museums and heritage, the arts, media, and the 'cultural industries'. It will provide theoretical perspectives and practical insight into policy formation processes in Australia and internationally. The multiple actors and rationales that shape policy and ground claims for its relevance amid social change and cultural diversity are considered. Students learn how to analyse policies in relation to the institutional, social and political contexts of their emergence.

A work of history may range in scope from a single life to the forces of internationalism, from a single moment to the span of human history, from a single locality to the globe. Why, and how, do historians tell such different stories? In this unit we explore the ideologies and social perspectives that underpin the historian's craft. Examining trends in historical scholarship, we consider how engagement with different methodologies has contributed to the social, cultural, intellectual and political 'turns'.

This unit will demonstrate how the evolution of Australian Jewry has been visualised in various museums run by the Jewish community, local communities in country areas and national museums. It will analyse government policies toward Jewish refugees before and after the Holocaust, and other key issues. It will also discuss how ethnic museums can contribute to Australia's broader multicultural history.

Media Relations provides students with practical experience in seeking media coverage for a specific issue on behalf of a non-profit organisation. It requires students to research, design, present, implement and evaluate a communication plan, and to develop key tactical elements including media releases for distribution across multi-media platforms.

This unit introduces students to key issues, debates and ethical questions in human research, enabling them to acquire knowledge and develop skills for research degrees and funding applications. It examines values and principles of research ethics, and encourages students to reflect on these in relation to research with human subjects.

This unit introduces students to some practices, methods, writing styles and forms of argumentation relevant to research in Gender and Cultural Studies. Through the study of different examples, students are encouraged to develop their own research practices and writing skills. The unit caters to students in the early stages of thesis conception and development. Students who have already begun writing their thesis will be encouraged to experiment with different ways of arguing and writing their research. Students who are just starting will have the opportunity to develop their ideas.

The aims of the course are to introduce students to broad range of specialists from the related fields of architectural conservation and related disciplines who specialize in the conservation of traditional building fabric; to introduce students to the appropriate and accepted methods traditional construction and of the conservation traditional architectural materials; and to familiarise students with the relevant literature pertaining to the domain. The objectives of the course are to allow the student to develop a broad understanding of excellent contemporary conservation practice in the conservation of traditional materials; to develop a broad understanding of traditional building methods; to develop an understanding of good and bad practice in the conservation of traditional materials. Students will be expected to demonstrate the ability to research and prepare an academic paper related to the domain.
Class preparation: 1 hour/week; assessment preparation: 15-20 hours/semester

The aims of this unit are to develop skills in the methods and practices of conservation at an accepted professional level, and to interpret and apply the theory taught in the mandatory core of the course in practical, on-site projects. The unit focuses on culturally significant structures and cultural landscapes and includes: methods of survey and documentation (locating, describing and recording components with possible heritage value; identifying and reading historic fabric; historic and archival research methods; thematic history methods; pattern recognition; natural systems; settlements; cultural mapping; aesthetic analysis; material and stylistic analysis); evaluation methodology (assigning heritage significance); assessment methodology (establishing conservation priorities); and appropriate conservation actions (conservation and management plans, policies and strategies). At the end of the unit the student will successfully demonstrate: an understanding of the Australia ICOMOS Burra Charter and the ability to prepare, in accordance with current accepted professional practice, a conservation plan of a place or places of cultural significance; skill in methods and techniques of analysis, assessment and documentation of cultural significance; and the ability to develop relevant policies and strategies for the conservation of a variety places of cultural significance. The intended outcomes are achieved through inquiry, individual study and research and are demonstrated by each student upon the successful completion of set assignments. The assignments are constructed to allow each student to demonstrate his or her level of understanding of the accepted professional methodology and practice in the preparation and presentation of a conservation plan. Assessment criteria based on unit outcomes are used for the examination of the assignments.

In this unit students will become familiar with the system of legal protections and policy instruments that underpin heritage conservation activity. They will explore the idea of cultural property and of shared environmental resources and the ways in which these are balanced with private property rights in heritage policy and law. Classes will address the varying levels at which heritage protections operate, from international protocols down to local planning schemes. Students will become familiar with legislation, regulations, planning instruments and policies as well as the use of registers, inventories and other records of significant items. The unit will also address the roles of various government agencies involved in heritage conservation and develop an understanding of how such agencies utilize heritage studies and assessments, and how they develop heritage law and policy. Students in this unit will consider how different instruments and heritage protections relate to different scales and types of place including landscapes, streetscapes, archaeological resources, gardens and individual buildings. They will also consider how different sanctions and incentives achieve policy aims and support statutory obligations. Finally, together, staff and students will explore innovative legal and policy mechanisms for preventing or redressing the destruction of historically significant places and encouraging the meaningful protection of culturally significant places.

This elective is designed for International postgraduates who are new to study in an English language university. It supports the development of study, research, and critical thinking abilities, spoken English and academic language. Knowledge acquired in this unit will strengthen written and spoken English to help meet the standards necessary for successful completion of FASS Masters by coursework degrees. It is recommended that this elective be taken during the first semester.

This elective supports development of skills in critical analysis, writing in different genres, research, presentation, and developing individual scholarly 'voice'. While valuable for all commencing postgraduates, it is of particular benefit to those returning to academia after an extended break, or for International students wishing to orient themselves to local standards of practice for academic communication. This unit is structured to have additional seminars and lectures early in the semester and fewer later in the semester so students have the opportunity to apply new skills to all their coursework. The unit is ideally taken in the first semester of study.

This unit introduces theories of professional writing with a specific focus on composing in the workplace. Students will develop abilities in analysing, writing, revising, and delivering workplace texts, both print and multimedia. By examining and discussing a range of actual workplace documents, from emails to websites, students will gain a broader understanding of the rhetorical principles and ethical responsibilities inherent in professional writing practice. They will improve their ability to negotiate the relationships, tensions, and politics that influence workplace writing contexts.

This unit introduces practical techniques for editing workplace documents for increased clarity and effectiveness. Applying theories and principles of visual rhetoric, students will learn how to improve the readability and reception of workplace texts according to audience conventions and expectations. By analysing actual workplace documents, students will develop their critical reading abilities and gain a better understanding of how to edit texts for word economy, improved design and layout, and inclusive language. Editing print texts for digital or oral presentation will also be emphasised.

The internship unit allows students to gain hands on experience by undertaking a supervised project based in a recognised gallery, museum, heritage or arts organisation. Projects are developed in close consultation with the institution's needs and the student's desired experience. The internship unit offers hands-on experience of museums, heritage and related cultural organisations. It broadens professional skills and expertise well as offering an opportunity to better understand the relationship between theory and institutional practice. The capstone internship unit is designed to encourage students to synthesize their experience of theory and practice and includes a major essay on a specific topic of their choice.

Research and writing towards a dissertation of 12000 words on an approved topic, under the supervision of an academic member of staff. Department permission required. Approval is subject to the availability of appropriate supervision and the department's discretion. Prior to enrolling in Part 1 of the dissertation students should contact the unit coordinator to discuss their research topic and the development of a research proposal.

Research, writing, Completion and submission of a 12000 word dissertation on an approved topic, supervised by an academic member of staff. Department permission required. Approval is subject to the availability of appropriate supervision and the department's discretion