Art History: Dress & Textile Histories MLitt
Material Cultures HISTART5041
- Academic Session: 2026-27
- School: School of Culture and Creative Arts
- Credits: 20
- Level: Level 5 (SCQF level 11)
- Typically Offered: Semester 2
- Available to Visiting Students: Yes
- Collaborative Online International Learning: No
- Curriculum For Life: No
Short Description
This course provides an introduction to the cultural heritage sector and enables students to gain an understanding of how they may contribute to the sector as professionals after graduation. It explores both the material and symbolic properties of objects in order to analyse why artefacts matter, and why they are collected, exhibited and conserved; concepts from material culture frameworks, such as object biographies, are introduced as 'working tools' for interdisciplinary research by those involved in preserving and interpreting objects.
Timetable
10 x 1hr lecture
10 x 1hr seminar
1 x 1hr tutorial over ten weeks as scheduled on MyCampus
Excluded Courses
None
Co-requisites
None
Assessment
The standard assessments for this course are:
■ Essay (3,500-word) - 80%
■ Group report (1,000 words per student) - 20%
If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available:
■ There is no alternative to the essay, but a flexible deadline can be offered as reasonable adjustments (students should follow the usual process for extensions)
■ A recorded presentation OR 1-to-1 presentation OR a PowerPoint with substantial notes as alternative to the group report.
Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.
Course Aims
This course aims to:
■ Introduce cultural heritage issues with special reference to textile and dress collections
■ Give an insight into how graduates, as professionals, may contribute to the sector, and how different roles fit together
■ Use objects to explore and communicate key ideas
■ Introduce concepts from material culture studies, such as the object biography
■ Impart a knowledge of the key literature and of key institutions and professional bodies
■ Provide the opportunity to undertake a collaborative project
Intended Learning Outcomes of Course
By the end of this course students will be able to:
■ Explain and contextualise key concepts from material culture and cultural heritage
■ Critically analyse and evaluate selected current practices within the heritage sector
■ Apply material culture methodologies as interdisciplinary research tools to an object study
■ Curate a professionally structured report for a museum or heritage organisation.