Module ANTH3081: MATERIAL CULTURE

Department: Anthropology

ANTH3081: MATERIAL CULTURE

Prerequisites

• Political & Economic Organization (ANTH2051) OR Kinship & Belief Systems (ANTH2041) (Durham). HUSS 2111 Methods & Analysis II

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To study material culture in an anthropological context and address some theoretical issues applied to artefact studies.
• The module prepares students for employment in related areas such as museum ethnography, media and related artistic fields.

Content

• 1. Introduction to material culture studies.
• 2. The development of material culture studies in anthropology.
• 3. Material culture studies and anthropological theories.
• 4. Aesthetics and art in material studies.
• 5. The evolution of technology.
• 6. Museums and anthropology.

Learning Outcomes

• Factual Material: Introduction to material culture studies in anthropology, and its history including an overview of various theoretical perspectives as these apply to the study of technology and material assemblages.
• Acquire familiarity with the key methods and concepts of anthropological analysis as these apply to material culture studies.
• Gain an anthropological perspective and understanding of some of the important issues which effect ethnographic collections.
• Acquire some knowledge of material culture from around the world and the history of its study including ethnographic collections.
• Understand something about the ethics of ethnographic collection and issues of aesthetics.

• Use academic literature effectively to retrieve, sift and select ethnographic information.
• Ability to plan, prepare and mount exhibitions.
• Structure and communicate ideas effectively using visual, bibliographic and electronic sources based on artefact study.
• Use a range of graphic, photographic, drawing, and electronic techniques.
• Work effectively on collaborative projects.
• Co-ordinate projects within the broader exhibition context.
• Understand technical vocabularies as applied to material culture studies.

• Design, use and evaluate various research and practical approaches to the subject.
• Use information technology and associated computer programmes (graphics, web-pages, search engines, museum databases etc.).
• Plan work schedules and manage time.
• Work collaboratively and creatively with a partner in developing a display cabinet.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Students are required to attend a practical series and complete a project in lieu of tutorials, essays and examinations.
• Visits to museums supplement the learning outcomes of this module.
• Teaching is via lectures, and practicals where the lectures relate to the topics of the practicals and to the projects undertaken by students.
• Lectures provide a traditional method of communicating not only fact but clear understandings of process and the relationship between issues.
• They are used for the primary delivery of material in material culture because they allow clear transmission of information in an active learning environment where students can question and seek clarification.
• For anthropology students this medium cannot simply be replaced by texts or websites, though both are important adjuncts.
• The practical series is concerned with techniques of studying and documenting a group of artefacts, and researching and displaying them. Students are required to submit an essay and Museum display work which contributes owards the mark for the module, including a record of research.
• The Essay involves: research and arrangement of ethnographic displays, and is based on a series of practicals in which students gain practise and experience in the display of ethnographic objects and material.
• Students are required to complete a show case display of artefacts from the University's various collections, and produce a record of research on the display of around 2500 words.
• The Essay consists of two stages, the first of which provides formative feedback.
• For the Essay, students are required to select a related series of artefacts and produce a folder of work documenting them.
• The artefacts are selected from museums and collections visited during the first half of the module.
• The first submission concerns: the study of a material assemblage (submitted at the beginning of the Epiphany Term), and is a portfolio based on the first series of practicals, in which students develop the skills necessary for the description and documentation of a material assemblage.
• Formative assessment also includes a review of Essay plans for display work.
• An additional medium for tutorial discussion is asynchronous e-mail through module mail-lists.
• E-mail discussion brings its own constraints (and gender biases) but it can be a very supportive medium for students who are reticent in front of their colleagues, or who prefer to offer opinions formulated after reflection.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

The project consists of two stages, the first of which provides formative feedback. For the project, students are required to select a related series of artefacts and produce a folder of work documenting them. The artefacts are selected from museums and collections visited during the first half of the module. The first submission concerns: the study of a material assemblage (submitted at the beginning of the Epiphany Term), and is a portfolio based on the first series of practicals, in which students develop the skills necessary for the description and documentation of a material assemblage. Formative assessment also includes a review of project plans for display work.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University