MA Curating Cultures

Mode of Attendance: Full-time or part-time

This programme provides an unrivalled opportunity to explore methods and approaches taken to the curating of the arts of Asia and Africa. It is particularly suitable for those who wish to develop in the arts sector or cultural industries whether that be in the context of museums, galleries, festivals, online platforms, biennales, and other display contexts. It will also appeal to practising professionals in these areas who are interested in strengthening their knowledge and critical outlook. Themes and issues addressed include but are not limited to: histories and ideologies of curating and exhibitions, theories of collecting, interpreting objects, contemporary issues and debates regarding postmodernism, postcolonialism, repatriation and decolonization, curating and writing of exhibition texts and interpretation.

Additionally, this programme provides an excellent postgraduate foundation for students interested in pursuing PhD research in the fields of curating and/or Art History/Archaeology of Asia and Africa in general.

Why study MA Curating Cultures?

• Unrivalled expertise and focus on the curating of the cultures of Asia and Africa.
• Ideal for those planning to enter a career in the arts sector and cultural industries.
• Coverage and exploration of the most pertinent debates and issues today facing museums, galleries, exhibitions, and the sector in general.

The Department of the History of Art and Archaeology contains some of the world’s leading experts in Asian and African art history and archaeology, whose ground-breaking research informs and is informed by their teaching. Many of them are also experienced curators and contribute to the vibrant programming in the Brunei Gallery at SOAS. Students benefit from the unparalleled knowledge and enthusiasm of the staff. As members of the School of Arts, students also profit from the insights of scholars and students studying the Music, Film and Media of Asia and Africa in historical and contemporary contexts. They can also select from modules from within the School of the Arts and in other departments across SOAS, taking advantage of its unrivalled expertise in the languages, history, religions and cultures of Asia and Africa.

Structure

Students must complete 120 credits of MA taught modules in addition to the compulsory dissertation (60 credits).

Occasionally the availability of optional modules changes as a result of staffing and other circumstances. Students who had signed up for such modules will be notified as soon as possible and given the opportunity to choose from available alternatives.

Dissertation

• Dissertation in History of Art and Archaeology: Curating Cultures

Compulsory Modules

• Asia and Africa On Display: Objects, Exhibitions and Transculturism

and

• Curating Cultures Cohort A

or

• Curating Cultures Cohort B

and

60 credits from List A

and

30 credits from List A AND/OR modules from Postgraduate Open Options.

List A (subject to availability)

• Arts of Modern and Contemporary China (since 1800)
• Contemporary Art and the Global
• Modern and Contemporary Arts in Africa
• Modern and Contemporary Korean Art
• Theory and Method in Art History
• Arab Painting
• Ceramics in Chinese Culture: 10th - 18th Centuries
• Chinese Porcelain: Trade, Transfer and Reception
• Islam and the West: Artistic and Cultural Contacts
• Popular Practice in the Edo Period Arts
• Islamic Visual Culture
• China and the Silk Road: Art and Archaeology
• Interpreting Visual Expressions of the Mandala
• Islamic Art and Architecture of Eastern Mediterranean of the Period of the Crusades (11th-14th centuries)
• Shogunal Iconography in the Edo Period
• Southeast Asia's Art Histories I
• Southeast Asia's Art Histories II
• Themes in the Visual Arts of Dynastic China (before 1800)
• Analytical Approaches to the Global Creative and Cultural Industries
• Global Film Industries

Important notice

The information on the programme page reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session.

Aims and objectives

• Ability to critically evaluate interpretative frameworks of museums, galleries, exhibition spaces, public art, online platforms/digital curating, and other display contexts.
• Critically analyse the role practices of collecting, display, and interpretation have in the production of meaning and value of objects.
• Study the methods, practices and key issues surrounding ways in which Asian and African cultures and objects have been presented from both within their own traditions and from the European perspective with a particular focus on decolonisation.
• Develop an understanding of both the theory and practice of curating.
• Acquire in-depth knowledge of the specific areas of Asian and African art and/or archaeology that the student chooses to study, as seen in their course selection.

A Master from the Department of the History of Art and Archaeology provides students with expertise in the History of Art and/or Archaeology of Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Skills gained

The large portfolio of transferable skills are graduates acquire enables them to forge careers in a range of other fields across the world. Our Master's programmes are also an excellent foundation for MPhil/PhD research.

Careers

Our postgraduates progress to work in arts, culture and heritage roles, including:

• galleries
• museums
• archives<
• conservation
• publishing
• arts administration

Employer

Graduates have gone on to work for a range of organisations including:

• Asia House
• Bonhams
• British Museum
• Christie's Hong Kong
• Design Museum
• Dr Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum
• Hong Kong Museum of Art
• India Foundation For The Arts
• Museum of East Asian Art
• National Gallery of Singapore
• National Museum of Singapore
• People Projects Culture & Change
• Schoeni Art Gallery
• Sotheby's
• Taiwan Embassy
• The Alliance for Global Education
• The British Embassy
• The Chester Beatty Library
• The National Museum Of Korea
• The Royal Collection

Roles

The types of roles that graduates have gone on to do include:

• Manager of Communications
• Culture Programme Coordinator
• Research Assistant
• Social Anthropology Lecturer
• Specialist - Indian Art
• Architect
• Art Historian
• Development Specialist
• Archivist
• Gallery Director Innovation Programmes Learning Manager
• Creative Director
• Organisational Consultant
• Travel writer
• Art Collector
• Chinese Painting Specialist
• Professor of Silk Road History
• Rights and Reproductions Officer
• Public Education Coordinator
• Senior Curator of Photographs