About Us
Mansfield Cooper Building
The Centre for Museology was launched in 2002 and is based in the School of Arts, Histories and Cultures (SAHC) of the University of Manchester. The aim of the Centre is to develop and promote research and teaching in museum theory and practice. The Centre also promotes academic and professional collaboration between the University and the museum profession in the North West, throughout the UK and overseas. The Centre works very closely with its sister Centre for Arts Management and Cultural Policy and is affiliated to the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in the Arts.
Today, the Centre for Museology is a focus for cross-disciplinary perspectives on museum theory, history and practice within the University. We have a vibrant teaching and research environment where the interests of academic staff, postgraduate students and professional practitioners converge. Museology students come from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds, including history, art history, archaeology, anthropology, classics and natural science. Our broad, inclusive programmes benefit from the Centre's links with subject areas within the School and across the University. We are, also, leading the development of the new Institute for Cultural Practices, an exciting platform for working with cultural partners in teaching and research within and beyond the School. Equally, staff at the Centre for Museology are part of CHIMERA, an interdisciplinary group of academics and researchers at the University of Manchester, who collaborate in the teaching and research on cultural heritage, memory and identity.
We have strong working relationships with museums and galleries throughout Britain and abroad, and our teaching is delivered in partnership with The Manchester Museum and the Whitworth Art Gallery, both of which are part of the University of Manchester. The wealth of museums and collections in Greater Manchester and the north of England make this an excellent place to study museums. Our students undertake projects and work placements at a great variety of institutions, including: Manchester Art Gallery; Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston; Cornerhouse, Manchester; Henry Moore Institute, Leeds; Lancashire County Museum Service; Liverpool Biennial; Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester; National Museums Liverpool; People's History Museum, Manchester; Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds; Salford Art Gallery; and Stockport Museum.
The Centre for Museology works in three areas of activity:
As well as initiating research projects and organising our own events, the Centre provides a network for other researchers and practitioners. We welcome proposals for joint activities and partnerships with individuals and institutions within and beyond the University of Manchester, and with both academic and professional colleagues.
Staff
The staff of the Centre undertake a range of research activities themselves and also support colleagues' work within the interdisciplinary field of museum studies. We are interested in developing further opportunities for collaborative research, both within the University and also with the museum profession. Find out more about our teaching and research interests in the 'Academic Staff' pages.
Location
The Centre for Museology is based in the Mansfield Cooper Building (number 65 on the campus map) in the university campus on Oxford Road. Here it is in Google Map.
View My Saved Places in a larger map
Centre4Museology Media
- Flickr images: museum and teaching-related images by students and staff of the AGMS
- Museology web bookmarks: this includes bookmarks of websites relevant to Museology and more specifically to issues, topics and courses of the Art Gallery and Museum Studies MA programme (AGMS). AGMS students add and share bookmarks relevant to their study and courses. In this way, a repository of museologically relevant and more importantly course- and subject-specific web resources is developed - useful primarily to AGMS students and members of staff and hopefully others as well
- The Institute for Cultural Practices Dashboard, which provides access to online resources on museum studies and arts management
- Digital Heritage blog: this is the blog of the 'Digital Curating' option course at the AGMS. Read the aims of the course and the blog
- Mashup Museum Archaeology: this website aggregates automatically web content relevant to postgraduate and undergraduate study of archaeology and museum studies. Mashup Museum Archaeology is a joint project of the Centre for Museology and Archaeology at the University of Manchester.
Contact the Centre for Museology
Centre Director: Dr Helen Rees Leahy
Email: museology@manchester.ac.uk
Address:
Centre for Museology
School of Arts Histories and Cultures
Mansfield Cooper Building
The University of Manchester
Oxford Road
Manchester M13 9PL
Telephone: 0161 275 3311
Fax: 0161 275 3331