This course will introduce and examine the principles underlying the practices of cultural heritage and museum management. It introduces students to the historical, political, institutional and cultural frameworks for contemporary heritage and museum practice in Australia and internationally. The first half of the course focuses on heritage practices, the second on understanding the frameworks regulating museum practices. Topics covered by the course will include the identification of the range and nature of cultural heritage in Australia, an examination of the history of museum development and collecting practices, the basic policy and legislative frameworks (Federal and State) governing the protection of cultural heritage; the principles and processes of heritage conservation planning; the role of archaeology and other areas of expertise in heritage conservation, curation and planning, the practices of documenting heritage values. The course will also consider the ethical issues that underpin heritage and museum conservation and interpretation.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. evaluate the historical, political, institutional and cultural frameworks for contemporary heritage and museum practice in Australia and internationally;
2. critique heritage and museum policies and legal frameworks relevant to the practice of heritage and museum management;
3. critically analyse the principles of conservation and management;
4. critically analyse a range of ethical and political issues that underpin heritage and museum management; and
5. apply critical theory to the development of your own professional-standard practice document.

Field Trips

There are three field trips for this course (all in Canberra). You are encouraged to attend all 3 – they relate directly to the readings and lecture content for the course.  

Additional Course Costs

The field trip to Mugga Mugga cost $10 per student, which is due on the day of the field trip.

Examination Material or equipment

Not applicable

Required Resources

Australia ICOMOS. 2013. The Burra Charter, including new Practice Notes can be downloaded at: http://australia.icomos.org/publications/charters/; also available as: Australia ICOMOS. 2004. The Illustrated Burra Charter: Good practices for heritage places, Australia ICOMOS, Melbourne.

 

Taylor, K and Verdini, G. (2022) Management Planning for Cultural Heritage: Places and their Significance. Routledge, London. [uploaded on Wattle]

Recommended Resources

Whether you are on campus or studying online, there are a variety of online platforms you will use to participate in your study program. These could include videos for lectures and other instruction, two-way video conferencing for interactive learning, email and other messaging tools for communication, interactive web apps for formative and collaborative activities, print and/or photo/scan for handwritten work and drawings, and home-based assessment.

ANU outlines recommended student system requirements to ensure you are able to participate fully in your learning. Other information is also available about the various Learning Platforms you may use.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• written comments
• verbal comments
• feedback to whole class, groups, individuals, focus group etc

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). Feedback can also be provided to Course Conveners and teachers via the Student Experience of Learning & Teaching (SELT) feedback program. SELT surveys are confidential and also provide the Colleges and ANU Executive with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	An Introduction to Cultural Heritage
2	How is Heritage ‘Managed’? Who ‘Owns’ Heritage?
3	Determining Heritage ‘Significance’ and ‘Values’
4	Documenting Heritage Values: Practical (field trip)
5	Conservation Management Planning: Principles
6	Conservation Management Planning: Practice (field trip)
7	Working with Heritage Legislation and Agencies
8	Indigenous Repatriation, Heritage Issues and World Heritage
9	Heritage Interpretation and the Visitor Experience: Visitor Programs
10	Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention and its implications
11	Oral History Methods and Personal Storytelling with communities
12	Student Presentations

Tutorial Registration

ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Learning Outcomes
Assessment Task 1: Leading a Tutorial Discussion	15 %	1,2,3,4
Assessment Task 2: Worksheet (1500w Masters / 1000w for UG)	20 %	1,3,4
Assessment Task 3: Significance Assessment (4000w Masters / 2500w UG)	55 %	1,2,3,4
Assessment Task 4: Presentation on your Significance Assessment	10 %	1,2,3,4

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines , which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Integrity Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Extenuating Circumstances Application
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure
• Code of practice for teaching and learning

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Skills website. In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

Please attend the tutorials in person. And lecture attendance is strongly encouraged.

Examination(s)

n/a

Assessment Task 1

Assessment Task 1: Leading a Tutorial Discussion

Details of task:

1. Choose one week’s topic that most interests you (weeks 2 to 11). We will allocate tutorial weeks in WEEK ONE tutorials, and I’ll upload the list to Wattle. There shouldn’t be more than (ideally) two people each week.

2. Complete all the readings (and any extras you may find) and prepare a short and informal talk for your tutorial group, drawing on the readings and addressing one (or more) of the questions stated under each week.

3. It’s then your task to pose a few discussion starters/questions to the class,

4. You should then encourage/lead/moderate discussion amongst the group.

15% value, weeks 2 – 11 (this can include the Field Week trips)

You don’t need to submit/upload anything to Wattle after you’ve done your nominated Tutorial week. You’ll be marked on:

• your engagement with the topic

• your response to the readings (and your preparedness re: readings)

• and your ability to lead and encourage discussion

Assessment Task 2

Assessment Task 2: Worksheet (1500w Masters / 1000w for UG)

Details of task: 20%, due 14 April

You are expected to complete the worksheet provided on WATTLE. The questions are based on the readings, lectures and tutorial discussions

from Weeks 1 to 7. They are designed to test your understanding of the concepts discussed during the lectures and tutorials, and in the readings. Please

reference your work. Further instructions on the worksheet itself.

Assessment Task 3

Assessment Task 3: Significance Assessment (4000w Masters / 2500w UG)

Details of task: 55%, due 9 June

The aim of this project is to highlight the process of significance assessment. It will allow you to experience the process of researching, documenting, and assessing heritage places and their ‘value’ according to a criteria and set of guidelines. You will need to have a thorough understanding of your heritage area/place in order to assess its significance alongside other heritage areas.

There are many guides and case studies to assist you in understanding the significance assessment process (see WATTLE site), and we will also spend a lot of time discussing it in tutorial and lectures.

What is significance?

Significance means the importance and meaning we place on a landscape, site, building, object, collection (or other) in the past, now and in the future. Significance is not absolute; arguably it is subjective, but various guides (eg. Burra Charter) and criteria (eg. State heritage criteria) attempt to take the ‘subjective’ out of this process. Different people value different things at different times in their lives. Values can relate to the personal, family, community, national and/or international (that is, operate on different scales). Significance can be assessed in relation to many areas but particularly: historic, aesthetic, scientific, social, and spiritual (we would have explored the application, use, and issues with these concepts as they apply in Australian practice, during the lectures and tutorials).

While anyone can assess significance, it is often an area for specialists and professionals who understand the wider heritage industry – guidelines, assessment criteria (locally, nationally and internationally) – and can judge significance based on their experience. However, it cannot be done in isolation from community values, perspectives and knowledge.

This part (Significance Assessment) of the wider heritage management process corresponds with the first two stages/steps outlined in the Burra Charter and pasted below:

The process therefore requires research about your place, first and foremost. This research can include documentation (archival documents, town planning records or other publicly circulating reports, newspaper articles etc, potentially oral histories, community consultation and/or other interviews or storytelling), and secondary reading (historical research/contextual information/other significance assessments or conservation management plans and reports). If you’re lucky, there may be people you can talk to and interview as part of your research on your chosen place.

What should I assess the significance of?

You need to be able to access information on the place you are assessing, so for most people it will be easiest to select somewhere or something in Canberra. You may also need to take photographs if no others are available via the Internet or previous reports. Choose somewhere that interests you.

How should my assignment be formatted? What should it include?

Your assignment should look like a professional report. Some states and territories have templates for heritage assessments (such as the Northern Territory); others may outline what they expect to be in the report but not the order.

This is not an essay but an industry-standard report. Because your word count is limited, you may not be able to address every aspect of a professional-standard Significance Assessment.

The key parts you must include:

1. A description of the place, its locale/cultural landscape (and setting, if relevant), and its fabric (if relevant),

2. A brief history of the place,

3. Assessment of its values (eg. aesthetic, historical, social, scientific) and their correspondence to relevant criteria (eg. State Heritage Criteria, or World Heritage Criteria, ACT Heritage Criteria),

4. A STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE,

5. A list of references at the very end.

•Masters students may also include the following sections if word count permits: comparative assessments and accounts of existing listings or assessments, limitations to the research, recommendations for management, stakeholder consultation etc.

Include photos and maps, if available.

CRITERIA. In this task you will be evaluated on the basis of the extent to which you have:

a. effectively understood and met the key criteria for developing a significance assessment (outlined above), including conducting an adequate amount of research, consulting enough resources to make your arguments about the place’s significance

b. identified the place’s values and correspondence with relevant criteria

c. developed the report according to the guidelines and professional standards

d. well-structured and formatted

e. skill in expression and language

Assessment Task 4

Assessment Task 4: Presentation on your Significance Assessment

Details of task: 10% - 7-10 minutes, 21 May, during the final lecture and tutorials

You must present the findings from your significance assessment to the class in the final week of the topic. You will only have five minutes to present and time limits will be strictly enforced. You will also need to submit the Powerpoint presentation for your talk via WATTLE.

You will be graded on your ability to communicate the key aspects of your significance assessment clearly and within the timeframe. Please remember that the findings of your assessment are the most important aspect so allocate your time accordingly (i.e. don’t spend seven minutes on history and 1 minute rushing through the assessment outcomes, for example).

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. The University’s students are an integral part of that community. The academic integrity principle commits all students to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support, academic integrity, and to uphold this commitment by behaving honestly, responsibly and ethically, and with respect and fairness, in scholarly practice.

The University expects all staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle, the Academic Integrity Rule 2021, the Policy: Student Academic Integrity and Procedure: Student Academic Integrity, and to uphold high standards of academic integrity to ensure the quality and value of our qualifications.

The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 is a legal document that the University uses to promote academic integrity, and manage breaches of the academic integrity principle. The Policy and Procedure support the Rule by outlining overarching principles, responsibilities and processes. The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 commences on 1 December 2021 and applies to courses commencing on or after that date, as well as to research conduct occurring on or after that date. Prior to this, the Academic Misconduct Rule 2015 applies.

 

The University commits to assisting all students to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. All coursework students must complete the online Academic Integrity Module (Epigeum), and Higher Degree Research (HDR) students are required to complete research integrity training. The Academic Integrity website provides information about services available to assist students with their assignments, examinations and other learning activities, as well as understanding and upholding academic integrity.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Individual assessment tasks may or may not allow for late submission. Policy regarding late submission is detailed below:

• Late submission not permitted. If submission of assessment tasks without an extension after the due date is not permitted, a mark of 0 will be awarded.
• Late submission permitted. Late submission of assessment tasks without an extension are penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item. Late submission is not accepted for take-home examinations.

Referencing Requirements

The Academic Skills website has information to assist you with your writing and assessments. The website includes information about Academic Integrity including referencing requirements for different disciplines. There is also information on Plagiarism and different ways to use source material. Any use of artificial intelligence must be properly referenced. Failure to properly cite use of Generative AI will be considered a breach of academic integrity.

Returning Assignments

Two weeks after submission

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Accessibility for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents all ANU students