AHT3220 Museums, archives and cultural heritage
Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture
AHT3220 Museums, archives and cultural heritage is a level 3, 6-credit-point, undergraduate unit from the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture, offered in 2025 in Semester 2 at Caulfield. It has no prerequisites.
- Credit points
- 6
- Offered in 2025
- Semester 2
- Caulfield
- Assessment
- No exam
- 3 tasks
This is the 2025 handbook entry. See the 2027 entry.
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Requisites
Before AHT3220
Corequisites
Pass these before, or take them in the same semester.
After AHT3220
No unit lists AHT3220 as a prerequisite in the 2025 handbook.
Enrolment rules
You must have completed 12 credit points in second-year Art History and Theory, or approval from Chief Examiner.
Overview
This unit explores the role that art museums, cultural archives, and related collecting institutions have played in preserving cultural heritage. In it, you will learn about the origins of these institutions in Europe, and their international spread and development. You will critically reflect on the roles that they have played in constructing and preserving public memory, weigh some of their non-Western alternatives, and consider their importance for the way we live today in Australia.
Offerings in 2025
| Teaching period | Campus | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Second semester | Caulfield | On campus |
Assessment
- Exercises (weekly critical responses)Exercise30%
- Museum catalogue entryWritten25%
- Final presentationPresentation45%
Learning outcomes
When you finish this unit, you should be able to:
- 1
Demonstrate your knowledge of key developments in the history of art museums and related cultural archives;
- 2
Explain how art museums and cultural archives have shaped the understanding of both art and society since the Renaissance;
- 3
Provide examples of how art museums and cultural archives have been used and understood in different ways over time and across cultures;
- 4
Demonstrate familiarity with criticisms of art museums and cultural archives, especially from Indigenous perspectives;
- 5
Articulate a vision for the role of art museums and cultural archives in the near future.
Workload and teaching
- Seminars12 hours
- Tutorials24 hours
- Teaching approachEnquiry-based learning
- Teaching approachActive learning
- Teaching approachPeer assisted learning
- Teaching approachOnline learning
- Teaching approachIndustry-based learning
- Teaching approachResearch activities
12 hours per week including 3 contact hours plus 9 hours of independent study.
Where it fits
AHT3220 is part of 1 area of study in the 2025 handbook.
Contacts
- Chief Examiners
- Dr Luke Smythe
- Unit Coordinators
- Dr Luke Smythe
Common questions
What are the prerequisites for AHT3220?
None, but you must take OHS1000 before or alongside it.
When is AHT3220 offered?
In 2025, AHT3220 runs in Semester 2 at Caulfield.
Does AHT3220 have an exam?
No. AHT3220 has 3 assessment tasks and no exam.
Which majors and minors include AHT3220?
AHT3220 is part of Art history and theory.