From Collecting to Curating: a Practical Course on Museum Exhibitions
Taught by Dr. Max Carocci
10 x 1. 5 hour classes
Start date: Spring 2024 (exact date TBC)
Price: £245
Please see our FAQ page or email courses@therai.org.uk with any questions.
This course is open to anyone interested in the connections between anthropology, museums and curating. Museum professionals, volunteers, gallery consultants, anthropology and art students will find this course particular stimulating.
The course looks at the relationship between Anthropology and Museums from the point of view of curatorial practice. Introducing central concepts and principles central to the history of Anthropology’s involvement in museums, we examine the changing faces of these historical relationships, from taxonomical displays, to the departure from natural history’s narratives, from the centrality of anthropologists as curators, to the increasingly central role played by source and Indigenous communities in curatorial projects and exhibitions.
Tutor biography
Dr. Max Carocci is Adjunct Professor of Art History and Visual Culture at the Richmond American University in London. For more than twenty years he has been teaching anthropology, art, visual and material culture in a variety of universities across the UK (Birkbeck College, Goldsmiths College, Chelsea College of Art, UCL, University of East Anglia). In addition to his academic career, he has served as curator at the British Museum, the Weltkulturen Museum Frankfurt, the Venice Biennale, and several institutions (including the RAI), and galleries in Britain and abroad. Max has published widely on a variety of subjects at the intersection of Anthropology and Art. Among his latest publications,Art, Observation, and an Anthropology of Illustration(co-edited with Stephanie Pratt, Bloomsbury, 2022), andArt, Shamanism and Animism(co-edited with Robert J. Wallis, MDPI: Basel, 2022).
https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-carocci-62a50b17/
https://richmond-uk.academia.edu/MaxCarocci
Course objective & structure:
We will examine the challenges presented by past and present case studies to build critical skills, and practical approaches to curating world art collections, archaeological material, ethnographic and folk objects, as well as contemporary arts from places usually associated with areas of anthropological remit. What is more, the course will offer an anthropological perspective on museums as sites of cultural encounter, mediation, and creation in the contemporary world.
Over the course of ten sessions, we will touch upon central issues in current museum practice from ethical issues in displays and cultural sensitivity, to religious pluralism and social inclusion, from community engagement and relationships with source communities, to fieldwork collecting, and collaborative methodologies, as well as the role of intangible heritage and performance in museums, among others.
A practical component complements the contextual elements of the programme, which is aimed at developing a set of guidelines for good practice in museums regardless of their character and nature.
By the end of the course, you should be able to:
- Discuss current museum issues and theories related to anthropology and curating
- Explain general curatorial principles and practices
- Entertain an independent assessment of museum techniques
- Use critical skills in museum ethnography and anthropology
- Compare and contrast Art Historical, Folk Art, World Cultures, Archaeological, and Ethnographic Museums
Summary of seminar topics:
- Week 1: Anthropology, Art, and Museums
- Week 2: Curating Today
- Week 3: Objects and Images: Collecting, Cataloguing, and Displaying
- Week 4: Exhibition Techniques
- Week 5: Class Report/Review of Museum/Virtual Visit
- Week 6: Audiences and Interpretation
- Week 7: Ethical Issues in Museology
- Week 8: What Does an Exhibition Entail?
- Week 9: Student Presentations
- Week 10: The Future of Museums
Further information about classes:
Week 1: Anthropology, Art, and Museums
Anthropology and museums have a long history that intertwines with local developments of the discipline. These different stories have resulted in a variety of approaches to collections that variably defined the role of the anthropologist in the museum, and constructed a multiplicity of museum typologies (e.g., ethnographic museums, folk art museums, world cultures museums, museums of archaeology, popular arts, and ethnology museums etc.). Here we outline some of the most salient differences between museums anthropologies in time and space to have a general overview of the field of inquiry entertained in this course.
Week 2: Curating Today
Purposes and types of exhibitions are diverse: educational, political, artistic. The presentation of collections to the public in museums is directly linked to the history of curating. In this session the history of display typologies is put in conversation with museum aims and character to reveal different priorities and curatorial strategies aimed at capturing a variety of audiences.
Week 3: Objects and Images: Collecting, Cataloguing, and Displaying
Museum collections are made up of a variety of different objects. These include items such as artifacts, photographs, visual expressions, memorabilia, religious objects, and sometimes, human remains. In this lesson we shall look at the processes through which an item becomes part of a collection. We will examine the trajectory of an object’s history from acquisition to display, passing through the cataloguing process, interpretation, and rationale for collecting.
Week 4: Exhibition Techniques
Museum adopt various techniques to convey their messages to the public. They may use reconstructions; dioramas; object displays; interactivity (e.g., media, databases, touch-screen, audio-visuals); educational/participatory interventions (e.g., demonstrations, tours, performances, storytelling; workshops). Invitation to visit a museum or exhibition that will be discussed in class.
Week 5: Class Report/Review of Museum/Virtual Visit
This week will host student presentations on the visit discussed in the previous week. It should include: analysis of content delivery, interpretation, and complementary material. It should also examine the use of space, objects lighting, forms of display, exhibition rationale, traffic flow, labelling, complementary material (e.g.; audiovisuals, interactive gadgets, three-D imaging etc.), interpretation, and educational programmes from selected case studies.
Week 6: Audiences and Interpretation
Who is the exhibition for? How do we engage different publics? How do museums come up with educational programmes, and all the components that complement them? This lesson is dedicated to activities central to museums’ education programmes, from workshops (hands-on), talks and conferences, to roundtables, guided tours, and performances.
Week 7: Ethical Issues in Museology
The increasingly more vocal criticisms moved against the politics of representation has encouraged museum practitioners and anthropologists to re-evaluate their ethical guidelines and principles. Here we look at the relationships with source communities, the delicate issue of displaying religious objects, how to deal with challenging collections (e.g., slavery, torture, inter-religious relations, restricted or secret material, etc.), and issues of repatriation of cultural property and human remains.
Week 8: What Does an Exhibition Entail?
How does one plan an exhibition? We will discuss the process and ways of thinking about an exhibition, from planning stages to design, mounting, interpreting, and marketing. You will be invited to produce a presentation where you discuss an idea for an exhibition for a known museum of which you can find a map. The following week you will present your pitch to the class, which will offer constructive criticism about your ideas. The tutor will act as facilitator.
Week 9: Student Presentations
Here you will present an exhibition proposal to the class in the form of a short PP that you can share with the other students. In it you will summarise: concept and rationale, aims and objectives, educational programme (e.g., talks, conference, guided tours, hands-on workshops, performances, demonstrations), marketing material (e.g., online presence, posters, catalogue, etc.), design (e.g.; possible use of audiovisuals, texts, and images, reconstructions, dioramas, mannequins, stands, interactive stations etc.), projected outcomes, and post exhibition material (catalogue, online information, new knowledge etc). Students will be encouraged to comment and ask questions about the project in order to strengthen individual proposals.
Week 10: The Future of Museums
Given the situation of today’s museums we can legitimately ask: What does the future of the Anthropology Museum look like? We shall evaluate how the museum is a creator of culture, and how it engenders moments of encounter and dialogue. Museums are however also places to store heritage, the inform the construction of identities, are educational tool. They are places of leisure and entertainment, but also sites of political activism. Is the future promising or challenging for these institutions? Will we see an increasing blurring of genres? Or the multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary cross-overs will decree the death of the Anthropology museum?
CPD Course for Certified Forensic Anthropologist Level III
(tutor)
8 x 1-hour Lectures
Online
(Dates)
(Price)
Course Level:
(who for)
(what student will gain)
Course Description
This CPD course will provide opportunities for certified FA2 practitioners to advance their knowledge in relation to the core competencies expected of an FA2 and introducing some of the areas expected of a chartered forensic anthropologist.
Topics:
- Juvenile Osteology
- Expert Evidence in UK jurisdictions
- Body recovery
- Health and Safety at Scenes
Course Outline
Topic 1: Juvenile Osteology
This topic will build on the introduction to juvenile osteology provided in the CPD course for FA3 personnel and will consider some of the more complex aspects including juvenile cranial morphology and a more detailed look at age estimation in this cohort.
A competency test will be associated with this topic which will be aligned with the CPD element of the recertification process within the practitioner levels document.
Topic 2: Expert evidence in UK jurisdictions
This topic will build on the introduction to UK legal jurisdictions provided in the CPD course for FA3 personnel and will consider the practicalities of giving expert evidence across the jurisdictions in addition to more technical aspects relating to report writing and legal procedure.
Topic 3: Body recovery procedures
This topic will be largely based on scenario information and discussion surrounding the most appropriate approaches to body recovery. The purpose of this topic is to provide participants with the opportunity to consider the flexibility that may be necessary in their recovery strategy depending on the scenario. The topic will also consider strategies to ensure maximal recovery of elements, packaging of remains and associated evidence.
Topic 4: Health and Safety at scenes
Within this topic, the areas of health and safety around scene and mortuary practice will be covered. As with the previous topic, this will be based in consideration of scenarios provided to the participants around which they will frame their discussion. Participants will be expected to consider the reasonably practical steps they can and should take to minimise risk and the importance of dynamic risk assessments.
Tutor Biography
Introduction to Forensic and Expert Social Anthropology
This course is designed to provide an introduction to key terms, definitions and concepts in Forensic and Expert Social Anthropology.
Course Tutor: Dr James Rose
8 x 1-hour classes
AUD$450 / GBP£245
Starting date: 17th July 2023 9:30am-10:30am BST.
Please see our FAQ page or email courses@therai.org.uk with any questions.
Booking for this course has now closed. Please register your interest if you would like to be notified about when the course will run again:
This course is ideally suited to students of social anthropology, early- and mid-career practicing social anthropologists, especially those currently or planning to work in legal-administrative settings, as well as to interested members of the public.
Forensic and expert social anthropology (FESA) is a specialised branch of social anthropology distinguished by its theoretical, methodological and ethical features. Theoretically, FESA is geared to provide evidence to legal-administrative processes addressing questions of human social culture. Methodologically, FESA practitioners deliver two composite services, either or both forensic investigation into human social culture, and/or expert opinion and advice in relation to that culture. Ethically, FESA is concerned with support for equitable access to justice on the part of vulnerable cultural communities. Using real-world case studies, this course provides an overview of introductory concepts, terms, and definitions.
Tutor biography
Dr James Rose is a forensic and expert social anthropologist specialising in culturally-based land claims, cultural heritage protection, data governance and geographic information systems. His methodological focus includes network-based population dynamics and social and kinship network analysis. James holds two decades' experience working with Australian state, territory and federal government agencies and departments, Commonwealth institutes, industry regulators, health service providers, universities, community-controlled organisations, and the private sector, and is a Senior Research Fellow with the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health.
University of Melbourne: https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/843112-james-rose
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4983-1393
Private consulting website: https://www.relational.net.au
Watch a recording of James Rose discussing Forensic Expert Social Anthropology: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ryb1wyU2aE
Course objective & structure
The course provides an introduction to key concepts, terms and definitions, together with a developmental history of the role of social anthropologists in legal proceedings across a range of international jurisdictions, including Indigenous land claims, cultural heritage protection, asylum claims, war crimes and genocide trials, among others.
The course will be delivered synchronously in a virtual format over 8 x 1-hour classes. Each class will be comprised of a seminar oriented towards recommended readings and case studies, followed by class discussion.
Classes are designed to introduce students to contemporary best-practice in the subject area by orienting them towards case studies based on the tutor’s professional experience and leading relevant literature. The discussion component of each class is intended to allow students to familiarise themselves via semi-structured Q&A format with the tutor.
Students will receive a certificate of attendance upon course completion.
Missed classes can be recorded at the tutor's discretion and if requested in advance.
Summary of seminar topics
- Class 1: Terms and Definitions of FESA Practice
- Class 2: Why ‘Forensic and Expert'?
- Class 3: FESA and Legal Anthropology
- Class 4: Independent objectivity and duty to the Court
- Class 5: Ethical FESA practice, Part A
- Class 6: Ethical FESA practice, Part B
- Class 7: Types of FESA practice, Part A
- Class 8: Types of FESA practice, Part B
Further information about classes:
Class 1: Terms and Definitions of FESA Practice
Forensic and expert social anthropology is a specialised professional branch of the more general academic discipline of anthropology. Anthropology emerged during the late 19th century under specific political and economic conditions that no longer exist. In order to properly understand the contemporary theory and practice of forensic and expert social anthropology in particular, it is important to understand how changing political and economic conditions have altered the legal-administrative processes in which anthropology is applied more generally. In this class, we examine the historical circumstances of anthropology’s emergence and subsequent development, as a means to understanding the terms and definitions underpinning forensic and expert social anthropology as a specific branch of the discipline.
Questions:
- What is the role of forensic science in legal-administrative settings?
- What are the key differences in the application of social anthropology and physical anthropology in legal-administrative settings?
- How was the discipline of anthropology defined by its founders?
- When and under what circumstances did the child fields of social anthropology and physical anthropology diverge within the parent discipline of anthropology?
- How are social anthropology and physical anthropology distinctly defined?
Class 2: Why ‘Forensic and Expert'?
Social anthropology serves a range of functions in legal-administrative processes. These are associated with two general roles: Either or both forensic investigation and expert witnessing. In this class we examine the features of these two types of practice, their relevance to distinct types of legal-administrative processes, the distinct forms of training, study and experience required to engage in each type of practice, and their interdependence in legal-administrative settings.
Questions:
- What are the key respective functions attached to the roles of forensic social anthropology and expert social anthropology and why are they interdependent?
- What kinds of legal-administrative processes make use of either or both forensic and expert social anthropology?
- What is the relationship between forensic and expert social anthropology and cultural expertise?
Class 3: FESA and Legal Anthropology
The specialist roles of FESA practitioners within legal-administrative processes is contingent upon the roles of other participants in those processes, defined by the specific functions performed by those roles, and the formal relations between them. This class introduces the theory of judicial governance, together with key distinctions between statutory and common law, and the distinct ways in which they define the roles of social anthropologists, the legal-administrative functions that they serve, and the relations between social anthropologists and other professionals involved, including lawyers, judges, and statutory agency staff. The class sets out a clear distinction between the anthropological study of legal-administrative systems and participation in legal-administrative processes by social anthropologists.
Questions:
- What is meant by ‘judicial governance’?
- What are the key general roles, functions and relations that constitute systems of legal-administration in which FESA practitioners participate?
- What is the difference between forensic and expert social anthropology and legal anthropology?
Class 4: Independent objectivity and duty to the Court
Forensic and expert specialists of any kind, who called to provide evidence and advice to legal-administrative processes, are typically required to commit to principles of objectivity and independence, and to eschew advocacy on behalf of any party to a legal proceeding or other process. This class explores the critical distinction between advocacy and independent expertise in FESA roles and functions, and the overarching duty of FESA practitioners to courts and other legally empowered bodies.
Questions:
CPD Course for Certified Forensic Anthropologist Level II
(tutor)
8 x 1-hour Lectures
Online
(Dates)
(Price)
Course Level:
(who for)
(what student will gain)
Course Description:
The CPD course for FA3 will cover the core competencies expected of an individual at the level of Certified Forensic Anthropologist Level 3 and will introduce some of the more complex elements that are expected to be within the knowledge and practical competency of an FA2 practitioner. It will also provide two competency test opportunities which meet one of the CPD requirements for recertification/progression to FA2.
- Human v Non-Human Bone Identification
- Adult human osteology
- Introduction to juvenile osteology
- Introduction to UK legal jurisdictions and expert evidence
Associated Competency Tests:
Human v Non-human Bone Identification
Adult Human Osteology
Course Outline:
Topic 1: Human v Non-Human Bone Identification
This topic will cover the theoretical and practical aspects of human and non-human bone identification utilising photographic images submitted through the Virtual Anthropology Consultancy Service and 3D scans available from creative commons sources. The underlying basis for the morphology of animal bone will be covered including the differential locomotor patterns and adaptation to forces. Other means of ascertaining origin including histology and biochemical testing will be touched upon although as these are specialist areas, they will not be a primary focus of the topic.
A competency test will be available in association with this topic. This will be a single attempt at the end of the course and will meet the requirements of the competency test CPD element from within the practitioner levels documentation in relation to recertification.
Topic 2: Adult Human Osteology
Human osteology is evidently a core competency of any physical or biological anthropologist, and particularly when applying this to forensic anthropology. This topic will cover the core elements of human osteology with an assumed level of knowledge of at least MSc. As this course is aimed at those who are certified at FA3 level, this is a reasonable presumption. The topic content will focus on the more challenging aspects of human osteology including fragment identification and the identification and siding of elements that are frequently omitted from taught programmes e.g. carpal, manual, tarsal and pedal elements.
A competency test will be available in association with this topic. This will be a single attempt at the end of the course and will meet the requirements of the competency test CPD element from within the practitioner levels documentation in relation to recertification.
Topic 3: Introduction to Juvenile Osteology
Juvenile osteology is less widely covered in taught post-graduate programmes than is adult osteology or comparative osteology. This is predominantly due to access to specimens from which to teach. This topic will provide participants with an introduction to the juvenile osteology including a more detailed consideration of growth and development than perhaps they have been previously given. This will then be supplemented with content relating to the gross morphological changes observed. An introduction to the application of methods of analysis to juvenile material will be provided.
Topic 4: Introduction to UK legal jurisdictions and expert evidence
The UK consists of multiple legal jurisdictions which have their own terminologies and procedures. As practitioners are certified for the UK and not for a single jurisdiction, this topic will provide participants with an awareness of the different jurisdictions that exist and within which forensic anthropological work is conducted. Areas included in the topic will be the core competencies and knowledge in relation to the criminal procedure rules and practice directions, the 4 Rs (Record, Retain, Reveal, Review) in relation to evidence, and the role of the expert witness. It is intended that this topic serves to widen the perspective of participants beyond the jurisdiction in which they live, study etc.
Tutor Biography
Introduction to Forensic Anthropology
This short course will provide insights into the discipline of forensic anthropology and human identification.
Course Tutor: Dr Catriona Davies
8 x 1-hour classes
GBP£245
Starting date: 2nd April 2024, 19:00 UTC
Please see our FAQ page or email courses@therai.org.uk with any questions.
This course is aimed at those who have an interest in human identification. No prior knowledge is necessary, although some general awareness of biology would be beneficial. Due to the senstive subject matter, this course is only open to those over 18. If you are under 18 and interested in this course, please keep an eye out on our course page, as we will be developing an alternative course for this age range.
Key words: Forensic Anthropology; Introduction; Skeletal Anatomy; Human Identification
The course will take participants through the basics of forensic anthropology and human identification. You will learn about the differences in the human skeleton that allow forensic anthropologists to provide the police with information that can help identify human remains or can assist the police by providing information that can direct their investigation. This will include the means by which an individual’s population affinity, biological sex, chronological age and stature can be estimated from the skeleton.
Tutor biography
Dr Catriona Davies is a senior lecturer in forensic anthropology and Chartered Forensic Anthropologist at the University of Dundee, Scotland. She has over a decade of experience in providing assistance to police forces throughout the UK in forensic anthropology and holds a BSc (hons) and PhD in Forensic Anthropology. https://www.dundee.ac.uk/people/catriona-davies.
Course objective & structure
Participants will gain an awareness of human skeletal variation and how this variability can be used in the identification of human remains. The online synchronous content will be lecture/seminar style with discussion encouraged. The asynchronous content will include theoretical content and associated reading.
Summary of seminar topics
- Class 1: What is forensic anthropology?
- Class 2: Basics of skeletal biology
- Class 3: Osteology
- Class 4: Assessment of Ancestry
- Class 5: Assessment of sex
- Class 6: Assessment of age
- Class 7: Assessment of stature
- Class 8: What happens at scene?
Further information about classes:
Topic 1: What is forensic anthropology?
This topic will cover a brief history of the discipline as it evolved from anatomy, physical anthropology and biological anthropology to become an independent discipline in the 1970s. It will then provide a contemporary perspective of forensic anthropology, focussing on the UK and the role of the RAI. The concepts of biological versus personal identity will also be included. The topic will culminate in a summary of the different areas within the remit of the forensic anthropologist acting as a lead in for the subsequent topics within the module.
Topic 2: Basics of skeletal biology
This topic will introduce the participants to the essential concepts in skeletal biology including the material composition of bone, the processes involved in the maintenance of bone and the basics of ossification. This topic will form the basis for the osteology topic and will allow participants to gain an understanding of the typical processes and what can happen if these processes are interrupted or disrupted.
Topic 3: Osteology
This topic will take the participants through the basic bone types, and then through the skeleton focussing on the adult. Attention will be paid to the morphology and the interaction between forces and the skeleton to produce the final shape. This topic will include the process of human/non-human identification and the estimation of the minimum number of individuals represented in a skeletal assemblage as pre-cursors to the subsequent topics which will consider the application of analyses to the skeleton for the estimation of a biological profile.
Topic 4: Assessment of Ancestry
The topic of ancestry is necessarily one that will be included, however it will be relatively light touch due to the somewhat sensitive and contentious nature of the early work in this area and modern perceptions of ancestry versus ethnicity, race etc. It will be made clear that ancestry and race are not the same thing and that in forensic anthropology, no assertions or estimations are made in relation to the latter. The estimation of ancestry is based on the assessment of cranial morphologies and/or measurements to provide an estimation of the ancestral geographical origin of the individual’s lineage. Some of the common methods will be introduced and an overview of craniometrics will be included.
Topic 5: Assessment of Sex
This topic will begin with a clear separation of sex and gender to establish the context in which forensic anthropology practices with an overview of sexual dimorphism. The topic will then focus on the pelvis and skull and the methods derived from these skeletal areas in addition to content relating to the importance in establishing the sex of a deceased individual before progressing to further analyses.
Topic 6: Assessment of Age
This topic will be divided into two parts: Age estimation in juveniles and age estimation in adults. This will allow participants to appreciate the different approaches needed in each case. Some examples of methods will be provided and discussed for each. The topic will be concluded by some discussion on the importance of accuracy and precision in age estimation and the balance that must be struck between these in any method being applied.
Topic 7: Assessment of Stature
The biological profile topics will conclude with the topic on stature estimation. The different approaches that can be used will be introduced, namely the anatomical and mathematical approaches. If time allows, some discussion of the limitations imposed by incomplete remains will be included. The topic will be finalised by a concluding overview of the biological profile elements that have been discussed and revisiting the biological identity concept introduced at the beginning of the programme.
Topic 8: What happens on a scene?
This topic will take the participants through the actions of a forensic anthropologist in a scene context, from initial contact to recovery and packaging of the remains. A fabricated context and scene will be used as an exemplar and will form the basis of the discussion. This will allow participants to ask questions about the programme as whole and consider some of the limitations that may be placed on the work of the anthropologist by the scene and the degree of recovery of remains.