Birmingham University Course Assignments

• Comparative Cultural Studies
• The Art of Listening
• Exploring Romanticism
• Literature and the Asylum
• Essentials of Applied Psychology
• Dissertation Project

• Museums, Tourism, and Heritage Culture
• Romanticism to Modernism - English Literature 1830 - 1930
• Sentiment and Empire
• Women and Impressionism
• Presentation and Dissertation Skills (Level 3)

• Europe and the Dictators 1900 - 1990
• Industry and Revolution in 18th Century England
• History of Ideas
  

• England in the Nineteenth Century
• History of Birmingham
• Foundations of Modern Europe (1648 - 1792)

• Introduction to Information Technology
• Perspectives of Human Psychology
• Introduction to Social Sciences

Museums, Tourism, and Heritage Culture

1	In what sense could museums and/or art galleries be said to be ritual spaces? Refer to at least two examples of specific institutions	67%
Planning and organisation of material: This is mostly well-planned, but the last part needed to be condensed more as not all of its detail was strictly relevant to the question. Use of sources: Sources are well used. There is a good bibliography and appropriate referencing from varied materials. Analysis: This is perceptive and knowledgeable. The first parts of the essay were particularly incisive in showing how ritual space was constructed out of historical symbolism and grandiose buildings, for example and how art objects acquired the status of relics. I think you needed to define the elements of 'ritual' and its 'liminal' spaces, as derived from anthropological study. The diminution of ritual space via internet is a useful gloss but not the main focus of the question here. Presentation: Fine. Overall comments: A very good essay, needing a little more definition of ritual/liminality and a little more editing in the last section. Well done.
2	"The cult of the country house exemplifies the dangers of the whole heritage phenomenon which, in focussing attention on the 'surface' appearances of the past, works against 'depth' of historical understanding." (Emma Barker, 'Heritage and the Country House' in Contemporary Cultures of Display, Yale University Press, p206) Discuss the statement with reference to at least two 'country houses' in Britain.	70%
Planning and organisation of material: This is nicely organised in general with a clear and progressive argument. Use of sources: There is a good bibliography and accurate and varied referencing. Analysis: This is a well written and thoughtful response to the quetion with many pertinent points supported by reading. Note that the preservation of monuments in Britain begam with William Morris's Society for the Protection of Ancient Monuments in the 1870s - Morris was worried about the speculative builders and the loss of old houses. The 'constructed' nature of all history is apparent (p3) insofar as (i) evidence is partial [and] (ii) views on it are diverse. Presentation: Fine. Overall comments: This is an articulate and readable essay and well referenced. Could the conclusion be extended a little to do justice to the text?