M.A. (MUSEOLOGY)

M.A. (MUSEOLOGY)

Semester I (Foundation Course)

* All the courses falling in I, II and III semester are core courses and are compulsory.

1) Introduction to the History of Indian Art

The course surveys the major landmarks in Indian art history and traces the significant developments in the architectural, sculptural and painting traditions from their early beginnings to the modern period. Selective and significant sites and schools of art and architecture shall be introduced in this course along with the major art movements.

2) Introduction to Museology

The course aims to acquaint students with the fundamentals of the role and functions of museums from their historical beginnings to the present, the philosophy and multifarious nature of museums including emerging trends in Museology in the form of New Museology that sees museums "beyond walls."

3) Introduction to Conservation Science

Museum collections and heritage sites form a basis for the study of art history in a substantial manner. With time, these collections and sites do undergo various types of deterioration necessitating their conservation. Though a specialized science, certain aspects of conservation such as preventive conservation can be implemented by professionals other than conservators. The course will cover basics relating to the conservation of cultural heritage. The emphasis will be on preventive conservation but curative aspects of conservation shall also be briefly discussed.

4) Research Methodology in Museum Studies

The Course intends to equip the students with tools and techniques of carrying out a variety of research works, data collections and analysis in the various subjects of Museology on the lines of prevalent research norms. It also takes into account the position, role and philosophy of Museology from the origin of this discipline to present times with an emphasis towards its future, both in the global and Indian context.

Semester II

1) Museum Collection

This course examines current theories, methodologies and technologies of collections. It is designed to acquaint students with how and why collecting is done along with the history of collection. Topics covered under this course include the History and Development of collection, Types of Collection, Collection Policy and Nationalism, Acquisition and Disposal: Practices and Regulation, Antiquities Act Regulation: Conventions and Faking, Issues of Restitution of Cultural Properties, Collection: Inter-museum Exchange of Exhibitions, Access to the collection and Storage Collection.

2) Documentation

The accessibility to Museum Collection is also the accessibility to the information associated. This course imparts theoretical and practical training about the established international norms and practices of Museum Documentation, which includes recording, structuring, maintaining, and retrieving of information related to pertinent objects of museum collection. It deals with the Objectives and Principles of Museum Documentation, Standardization and Research Data input, Procedures and Practices in Documentation system and the Methods of Documentation (Mannual and Digital), and the Special Features of Certain Object Categories.

3) Museum and Education

This course is structured to elucidate the correlation between Museums and Education. The scope of the course encompasses meaning and definition of Museum Education along with the issues of interpretation, outreach programme and non-formal education. Theoretical aspects of exploring educational potential of museums are supplemented by practical training in the mediums for the same. The course also imparts an understanding on the importance of Target Audience and Visitors Survey's and on Children as Special Category of Target Audience.

4) Exhibition

The course is intended to explicate the fundamentals of Museum Exhibition incorporating all details from the conceptualization stage to the final execution. The particulars of museum display including various aspects of designing and lighting are also covered in the course. The course offers an insight into Objectives and Definition of Exhibition, Elements of Exhibition (Design, Display and Communication, Exhibition Policy and Types of Exhibition), Display and Communication, Communication Master Plan and Target Audience, Conceptualization, Formatting and Layout, Design: Concept and Initializing, Lighting Techniques-Direct/Indirect and Evaluation.


Semester III

1) Museum Management and Administration

The course deals with the theories, concepts and Practices of Management along with the Management Principle, both General and Pertinent to Museums. The course also focuses on the Human Resource (Personnel) Management and the Financial Resource Management in the museum set-up in conjunction with the Museum's Administrative Framework.

2) Museum Architecture

The course offers to provide an in-depth understanding of the Museum Types (Building Type, Theme Type, Size Type) along with the skill of preparing a Design Brief (Internal and External Areas, Preparing Architect's Brief). Issues dealt in the course cover the Design Process of Museum (Site and Location, New Building and Old Building) and the Design Approach (the Functional Approach involving lighting, size etc and the Human Approach of Visual Perception, Human Response etc.). Concerns of later architectural adaptation and expansion in museums are also included in the course.

3) Museum Marketing and Public Relation

The course deliberates into the areas of Museum Marketing and Public Relations by outlining the General Principles of Museum Marketing and the Nature of Public Relation in Museum Setting. The course focuses on Methods of Marketing, and the problems of Museum Accessibility. It emphasizes the function of the museum as a public facility and confirms the importance of Publicity and Public Relation in museums along with Evaluation, Assessment and Improvisation.

Semester IV

Choices for Elective Courses (Two courses to be chosen compulsorily)

1) Museum, Society and Art Practices

The course proposes to examine the various regional and national, socio-cultural contexts in which a museum exists and its relevance to the society and community it serves with reference to Indian Museums. It also explores the changes and growth in art traditions and cultural practices which may be generated or affected through the museum.

2) Museum Visitor and Access Studies

The course emphasizes the need, methods and practicalities of the task of studying Museum visitors and provides an all-inclusive Access. It takes into account in-depth study of the current practices and established norms in the field. It focuses on the Definitions, Significance and Methodology of Accessibility, Evaluation, Visitor Profile and Survey. It deals with the issues of "Planning with Inclusion as a Goal", Access as a Civil Right Issue and Access to Cultural Resources. It imparts an understanding of audiences, their needs and their behavior, both at Macro Level (General Audience Information) and Micro level (Specific Audience Information) along with an insight into the various visitor categories, survey procedures and the analysis methods.

3) Museums and Community Participation

The course charts the genesis and development of museum and museology along with giving an insight of the New Museum Movement, New Museum Models and Terminologies. It also instructs about emerging cases of New Movement in the Indian Context.

4) Art Galleries Management

This course is intended to impart students with the theoretical base and practical skills of all the operational aspects of art gallery management. The target of this course is to offer students the chance to unite their background in museology with an array of managerial works such as writing, research, management, public relations and marketing.