GD5623 Participation and Co-production in Museums and Heritage
Academic year
2026 to 2027 Semester 2
Curricular information may be subject to change
Further information on which modules are specific to your programme.
Key module information
SCOTCAT credits
15
SCQF level
SCQF level 11
Availability restrictions
Enrolment is limited to online PGT programmes.
Planned timetable
To be confirmed
Module Staff
Dr Gonul Bozoglu
Module description
Participatory practice has become a critical aspect of museum and heritage work in attempts to go beyond a conventional focus on care for objects and sites. However, official understandings of communities and practices of community engagement often risk reproducing hierarchies of value and exclusion. Participation is understood as an empowering, inclusive, and active form of inclusion, but it is also subject to critiques about upholding inequality and elitism. The module addresses the practices, politics, and ethics of community participation in heritage and museums with a special focus on the creativity of communities, museum, gallery, and heritage organisations and actors. The module will be illustrated through international case studies, including ongoing practice-based research. Students will proactively undertake community participation activities to understand first-hand and reflect on its methodological, ethical, and practical aspects.
Assessment pattern
Coursework = 100%
Re-assessment
Coursework = 100%
Learning and teaching methods and delivery
Weekly contact
7 x 1 hour lecture, 2 x 1 hour seminar and 2 x 1 hour one-to-one supervision
Intended learning outcomes
- Apply and evaluate various theoretical approaches to museum and heritage studies.
- Demonstrate research skills by use of library and online resources.
- Develop awareness of issues in participatory approaches, reflexively engaging in active practice
- Apply research findings and critical thinking to the field of participation