The Museums and Collections of Higher Education provides an analysis of the historic connections between materiality and higher education, developed through diverse examples of global practice. Outlining the different value propositions that museums and collections bring to higher education, the historic link between objects, evidence and academic knowledge is examined with reference to the origin point of both types of organisation. Museums and collections bring institutional reflection, cross-disciplinary bridges, digital extension options and participatory potential. Given the two primary sources of text and object, a singular source type predisposes a knowledge system to epistemic stasis, whereas mixed sources develop the potential for epistemic disruption and possible change. Museums and collections, therefore, are essential in the academies of higher learning. With the many challenges confronting humanity, it is argued that connecting intellect with social action for societal change through university museums should be a contemporary manifestation of the social contract of universities. Much has been written about museums and universities, but there is little about university museums and collections. This book will interest museum scholars and practitioners especially those unaware that university museums are at the forefront of museological creativity. It will also be of interest to academics and the growing number of leaders and managers in the modern university.

The use of museum collections as a path to learning for university students is fast becoming a new pedagogy for higher education. Despite a strong tradition of using lectures as a way of delivering the curriculum, the positive benefits of ’active’ and ’experiential learning’ are being recognised in universities at both a strategic level and in daily teaching practice. As museum artefacts, specimens and art works are used to evoke, provoke, and challenge students’ engagement with their subject, so transformational learning can take place. This unique book presents the first comprehensive exploration of ’object-based learning’ as a pedagogy for higher education in a broad context. An international group of authors offer a spectrum of approaches at work in higher education today. They explore contemporary principles and practice of object-based learning in higher education, demonstrating the value of using collections in this context and considering the relationship between academic discipline and object-based learning as a teaching strategy.

This landmark publication is the first to draw together all aspects of museum collections management in one handbook. It is designed for anyone with responsibility for a cultural collection and covers everything a collections manager needs to know. It describes professional practice in managing cultural objects and works of art, whatever the size and nature of the collection. The book includes essential information on: Legal aspects of collections Ethical issues such as due diligence and immunity from seizure Up to date concerns such as sustainability, crossing borders and financial constraints Loans, acquisitions, inventory and movement. The book describes all collections management procedures in a simple step-by-step process and is clear and easy to use with all procedures based on international museum practice. Examples of real forms, policies and documents drawn from major museums are included throughout the text and act as guides for any transaction. Readership: Packed full of practical information, advice and good practice, this will be essential reading for all museum professionals, curators of private collections and museum studies students.

Over the last twenty years the educational role of the museum has come to be central to its mission. There are now far more educational opportunities, new spaces, new interfaces - both digital and physical, and a growing number of education and interpretation departments, educational curators and public engagement programmes. Despite these developments, however, higher education has remained a marginal collaborator compared to primary and secondary schools and to other forms of adult learning. This has meant that the possibilities for partnerships between universities, colleges, museums and galleries has remained relatively unexplored, especially in relation to their potential for generating innovative patterns of research and learning. This book addresses the key issues which are preventing such partnerships and examines how to enable more effective and creative connections between museums and higher education. The authors identify conceptual and practical barriers and explore whether current academic models are fit for purpose. They argue that as pressures mount on public educational resources around the world, there needs to be an urgent increase in the exchange of knowledge across these sectors and the forging of world-class scholarly partnerships. Examples of research undertaken internationally offer best practice models for collaboration and integration. This book will be compulsory reading for museum and educational specialists and those interested in engaging in museum/higher education partnerships. It will also be of interest to those involved in policy and decision-making in education, the museum sector and national and local government.

Museum Studies: An Anthology of Contexts provides a comprehensive interdisciplinary collection of approaches to museums and their relation to history, culture, philosophy and their adoring or combative publics. Brings together for the first time a wide array of texts that mix contemporary analysis with historical documentation Includes five sections that highlight central themes in museum studies: issue-oriented contexts in museology; states of "nature"; the status of nations; history, memory and other locations; and arts, crafts and visitors Addresses the development of museums, the role of the museum in society, and issues central to contemporary museum studies Opens with an introductory essay that situates museum studies in a truly interdisciplinary context and includes an opening essay for each section that guides the reader through the selections Includes a bibliography and list of resources devoted to museum studies that makes the volume an authoritative guide on the subject

The use of museum collections as a path to learning for university students is fast becoming a new pedagogy for higher education. Despite a strong tradition of using lectures as a way of delivering the curriculum, the positive benefits of ’active’ and ’experiential learning’ are being recognised in universities at both a strategic level and in daily teaching practice. As museum artefacts, specimens and art works are used to evoke, provoke, and challenge students’ engagement with their subject, so transformational learning can take place. This unique book presents the first comprehensive exploration of ’object-based learning’ as a pedagogy for higher education in a broad context. An international group of authors offer a spectrum of approaches at work in higher education today. They explore contemporary principles and practice of object-based learning in higher education, demonstrating the value of using collections in this context and considering the relationship between academic discipline and object-based learning as a teaching strategy.

This volume is a set of a dozen case studies of innovative programs designed to attract the public to both archaeological sites and exhibits of archaeological artifacts. Papers deal with general issues of interpretation and presentation and cover British, Australian, European, and American settings.

This open access book explores cultural competence in the higher education sector from multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary perspectives. It addresses cultural competence in terms of leadership and the role of the higher education sector in cultural competence policy and practice. Drawing on lessons learned, current research and emerging evidence, the book examines various innovative approaches and strategies that incorporate Indigenous knowledge and practices into the development and implementation of cultural competence, and considers the most effective approaches for supporting cultural competence in the higher education sector. This book will appeal to researchers, scholars, policy-makers, practitioners and general readers interested in cultural competence policy and practice.

New Directions for University Museums is intended to help university museum leaders to help them plan strategically in the context of the issues and needs of the 2020s by examining trends affecting them and directions in response to those forces. It will lay out a series of potential directions for university museums in the 21st century using examples from the field. Although university museums are similar to other museums in their topic areas (art, natural history, archaeology, etc.) they are a unique category that requires special consideration. Today university museums are grappling with new forces that are affecting their future: University museums still have a dual responsibility to campus and community, and they still try to mount exhibitions that are attractive to the communities in which they are embedded. But they are rethinking the nature of service to town and gown in response to larger trends around accessibility. It is no longer enough to try to attract visitors; these museums are becoming much more active and outgoing in their outreach to the broader public. They have unparalleled access to academic firepower, but university museum research is no longer the sole province of academics, intended for publication in scholarly journals. In the 2020s, research is being made much more relevant to existential problems of the world. For example, some are bridging the gap between academic research and teaching and the most pressing social issues of our time, such as climate change, the fight against racism and the interface between humans and technology. University museum research is no longer cloistered, and these institutions are finding ways to better leverage the new knowledge yielded by collections-based research for both the university’s and for public benefit. Student engagement and education is still important, but communication is no longer unidirectional (from faculty and museum staff to students). Now student input and co-curation is now invited as learning becomes a two-way street. Moreover, public science communication has become a much more important role for university museums. These are, in effect, the “new directions” to which the title refers. The main thesis of the book is therefore that university museums are becoming much more outward-facing. They are engaging with the public and with the world at large as never before. In effect, they matter more than ever. This is the overarching “new direction”. Within this general approach, there are a number of questions that the book addresses: What are the expectations of university museums in the 21st century from their key stakeholders – university administrations, faculties and students, and the communities in which they are embedded? How are those expectations changing and how are the museums evolving to meet them? How are university museums navigating the minefields of political polarization, “cancel culture” or heightened activism on campus and in society at large? What is the nature of the relationship between the university’s research and teaching mission and the university museum? What trends can we identify, and how can we help the university museum director navigate those trends? The university-donor relationship: what can we learn from a study of donor expectations and the dynamics of university-donor relationships in contemporary society? How is the relationship between the university museum and the broader external community changing? How is the university museum contributing to (or detracting from) the overall relationship between the university and the community? What role is the university museum playing in terms of public communication of research, especially public science communication? This book is for all those who work in, benefit from or are interested in university museums. In particular, it is hoped that the book will help university museum leaders who are embarking on strategic plans understand the common issues that are currently affecting their peers, and provide some context and guidance to those leaders as they chart their own paths for the future and to advance larger goals. For faculty, it will show how the museum can help improve undergraduate teaching and graduate student training via highlights and illustrations of new ways in which faculty departments are cooperating and partnering with their campus museums, and from a university administration point of view, how the museum can help the university achieve its bigger strategic goals (such as helping increase the percentage of successful faculty grant applications).