Museum, Gallery and Heritage Studies – (M.Phil.)

MPhil and PhD supervision is available in the following areas:
Theoretical and historical museology; ecomuseums; community museums; intangible heritage and digital media; the design, study and understanding of digital applications for the heritage sector; the history of museums and galleries; cultural/national identity and museums, galleries and heritage; cultural diversity and museums; contemporary issues in the organisation and management of heritage sites, museums and galleries; analysis of the contribution museums can make to inclusive communities; social history and its representation in museums; the dynamic interaction of art museums and galleries with the development of the visual arts; the role of art museums in relation to the development and practice of professional art history; education and public programming in art museums, galleries and ‘alternative’ settings; and critical and cultural theory in relation to museums, galleries and exhibitions.

We welcome research applications across a wide range of topics. For example, research students have previously investigated: performance indicators in museums; the significance of museums and heritage to the promotion of cultural identity; community museology in Scotland; art and the visually impaired; intellectual and physical access to museums and gallery resources; restitution of cultural property in Korea; and constructions and uses of Welsh identity in American museums.

Current student research topics include: attitudes towards human remains; learning experiences of school pupils in transatlantic slave trade museum activities; the role of authenticity in the on-site interpretation of historic battlefields; heritage and sense of place in the North Pennines; the distribution of rock art in Southern Africa; the social roles and regulation of art museum education in China and Taiwan; issues of authorship in online reminiscence museum initiatives; and the management and interpretation of archaeological sites in Turkey.