Dr Rosie Spooner
- Lecturer (Information Studies)
telephone:
0141 330 1707
email:
Rosemary.Spooner@glasgow.ac.uk
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7715-7917Biography
I am a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Information Studies in the School of Humanities. Trained as a cultural historian of the British Empire (19C and 20C), my current research and teaching concern the history, theory and practice of museums, heritage sites and other memory institutions within an imperial context and the contemporary legacies of this.
I joined Information Studies in September 2017 and became a full-time member of staff in April 2019. From 2016-2019, I was a Lecturer in Design History and Theory at the Glasgow School of Art.
I hold a PhD in History of Art from the University of Glasgow (2013-2016), a master's degree in History (colonialism, empire and race pathway) from the University of Bristol (2008-2009), and an undergraduate degree in Single Honours History from the University of Glasgow (2002-2006).
I also have professional experience working in museums, art galleries and archives in the UK and Canada, and have held positions in collections research, programming and curation, education, events management and administration.
I was born and grew up in downtown Toronto/Tkaronto, Canada, in the 1980s, 1990s and early-2000s, a foundational experience that in one way or another informs much of my work.
Research interests
My research expertise sits at the juncture of British imperial and colonial history, critical museology and critical heritage studies and is grounded in approaches from postcolonial and decolonial theory. Having trained as a cultural historian of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century British Empire, my research presently concerns the entanglements between the history, theory and practice of museums and other heritage spaces and slavery, colonialism and imperialism, focusing especially – though not exclusively – on the modern and contemporary Scottish context. In particular, I examine how exhibitionary spaces (e.g. museums, galleries, international exhibitions) functioned as tools of empire by facilitating the removal, collection, classification, display and interpretation of objects and images. Attentive to empire and its after-effects, I am also interested in how processes of heritage construction, commemoration and collective memory formation intersect with contested and 'hidden histories' of the colonial past and, closely tied to this, what constitutes progressive, anti-racist and decolonial museum practices.
I am currently working on two substantive research projects that sit within this broad, inter-disciplinary field of study.
The first is a critical analysis of the series of international exhibitions that were held in Glasgow between 1888 and 1938. This study examines the architecture and built environment, pavilions and exhibits, and interpretation and promotion of these immensely popular and yet largely ephemeral spectacles. It considers how these events, staged in the self-styled 'Second City of the British Empire', functioned as sites of imperial meaning-making and as expressions of a distinct imperial civic identity over a time period that covers both the empire's height and its nascent stages of decline.
The second is a practice-led project that explores the affordances and limitations of walking as a research method, form of public pedagogy and critical heritage practice. It examines whether the act and experience of walking can be a tool for interweaving underrepresented histories -- specifically histories of slavery, colonialism and imperialism -- into dominant heritage discourses and for exposing the process through which knowledge of the past is constructed in heritage settings. This work centres on creating, leading and evaluating free critical heritage walking tours delivered through existing public events programmes (e.g. Black History Month in Scotland, Glasgow Doors Open Days Festival, Architecture Fringe Festival), as well as allied walking resources such as a self-led heritage trail.
Additionally, I am a Project Co-Lead for IREAL: Inclusive Requirements Elicitation for AI in Libraries to Support Respectful Management of Indigenous Knowledges. A collaboration between the University of Glasgow, University of Technology Sydney and the King's Digital Lab, iREAL is a scoping project that seeks to develop a model for responsible AI systems development in libraries that hold collections reflective of Indigenous knowledges, specifially knowledge linked with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. iREAL is funded through the AHRC's Bridging Responsible AI Divides (BRAID) scheme.
Supervision
I am interested in supervising research projects that align with any of the following fields and topics:
- Memory institutions and empire and its legacies
- Social justice and museums
- History of collecting and collections in an imperial context
- Critical museology, particularly work informed by post-colonial, anti-colonial and/or decolonial approaches
- Critical heritage studies
- International exhibitions and world's fairs
- Memory studies and intersections with heritage
- Politcs of display, interpretation and representation
- Co-Production and collaboration
Additionally, I welcome proposals for collaborative doctoral awards/partnerships from organisations across the cultural heritage sector (e.g. museums, galleries, libraries, archives, heritage sites).
I am currently supervising the following PhD candidates:
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Chandra Brooks, 'Revisiting La Rate Blanche in the Era of Black Lives Matter: Autoethnographic Storytelling Through Scottish Heritage'
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Oona Dooley, 'Curating Contemporary Art in Historic House Settings: A critical assessment of Scottish cultural heritage experiences at Hospitalfield, Jupiter Artland, and Mount Stuart'
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Caitlin Knox, 'Scottish Museums and the Black Lives Matter Movement: A critical analysis into decolonial initiatives and changing museum practice', UofG James McCune Smith Scholarship
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Giulia Marinos, 'Imagining Ancient Egypt in the Age of Empire: Identity and power in Scottish museum displays of Egyptian objects, 1860 to 1930', Collaborative Doctoral Award with National Museums Scotland
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Lama Said (University of Edinburgh), 'Decolonising a Profession: Built Heritage Conservation and Management in Post-Colonial Egypt', AHRC SGSAH Doctoral Training Scholarship
- Dooley, Christie
Curating contemporary art in historic house settings: A critical assessment of Scottish cultural heritage experiences at Hospitalfield, Jupiter Artland, and Mount Stuart
Teaching
My teaching practice is rooted in concepts of critical and decolonial pedagogy, with areas of particular scholarly interest including experiential and practice-based learning, diversification of curricula, and equity, accessibility and social justice.
I am core academic faculty for the Museum Studies PGT programme and have convened a number of different core and optional courses since joining the Information Studies subject area. In recent years, I have settled into convening the following 20-credit PGT courses on an annual basis:
- Museum Skills and Professional Practice (core course in semester 1)
- Power & Politics in the Post/Colonial Museum (optional course in semester 2)
- Museum Studies Work Placement (optional course in semester 2)
Additionally, I regularly contribute to teaching and assesment on other PGT courses in Information Studies, such as Introduction to Museology, Managing and Using Collections, and Information Studies PGT Research Design & Methods. I also supervise Museum Studies MSc dissertations and Digital Media and Information Studies undergraduate dissertations.
Additional information
University leadership and administrative experience
- 2022 -- present: Co-Lead, Heritage Knowledge Exchange Hub, Scottish Graduate School for Arts & Humanities
- 2020 -- present: Committee Member, Beniba Centre for Slavery Studies, University of Glasgow
- 2020 -- 2021: Creative Placements Officer, College of Arts & Humanities, University of Glasgow
- 2019 -- 2023: Co-Director, Decolonise Glasgow Arts Lab, University of Glasgow
- 2019 -- 2022: Committee Member, Smithsonian Partnership Steering Group, University of Glasgow
- 2015 -- 2016: Research Assistant, Scottish Network on Digital Cultural Resources Evaluation, University of Glasgow
- 2015 -- 2016: Co-Convenor, Colonial & Postcolonial Discussion Group, University of Glasgow
External advisory roles
- 2023: Curatorial Consultant, Glasgow Museums
- 2022 -- 2023: Decolonisation Leaders Network, UK Museums Association
- 2020 -- 2023: Decolonising Advisory Group, V&A Dundee
- 2016 -- 2017: Curatorial Consultant, Department of Indigenous & Canadian Art, Art Gallery of Ontario
Awards
- 2022: Team Teaching Award, College of Arts & Humanities, University of Glasgow
- 2017: Research Development Fund Award, Glasgow School of Art
- 2015: Vivien Hughes Prize, British Association for Canadian Studies
- 2013: Research Project Bursary, Cultural Artefacts, Buildings, Landscapes, Environments: Scotland, University of Glasgow
- 2014 -- 2015: Hunterian Associate, Fellowship Programme, The Hunterian, University of Glasgow
- 2013: Graduate Scholar Award, Inclusive Museum Research Network
