Collections are ethical
Collections is organised through three thematic clusters (material, conceptual and ethical) that draw on and develop existing research excellence at the University of Glasgow.
Collections are ethical. The focus in this cluster is philosophical and empirical.
Drawing on expertise in Medicine, Veterinary & Life Sciences, Social Sciences and the Humanities, and reflecting the contested origins and complex ethical dimensions of Hunter’s own collections, projects in this cluster will critically examine the process, philosophy and ethical dimensions of collections and collecting practices, whether this is in relation to medical data (records, genetic information and tissue) or archives and collections of dubious or contested provenance. Here, projects that address ethical questions will speak to one another to develop a multidisciplinary response, emerging from the sharing of insight and models of best practice in relation to the management and interpretation of medical, historical and cultural heritage collections. Ethical problems confronting the management of contemporary medical collections that are of central importance to initiatives such as Stratified Medicine in which the University is a major pioneer – such as provenance, data protection and privacy – will be aligned with the pioneering work and research expertise emerging from the University’s cross-disciplinary initiative ‘Trafficking Culture’ and a project exploring the problematic existence and utility of so-called ‘looted archives’. The final project in this cluster addresses the contemporary global context of the city of Glasgow as a major location for the collection and exhibition of modern art, and explores the ethical dimensions of international art in the 21st century. This cluster allows Collections to offer insights that will be invaluable to the entire cohort of students, exploring as practice and process, the ethics of collecting and the collection.
