HERM 501. (HERM 301 may not be taken for credit by students who have obtained credit for HERM 501. Also, students who complete HERM 301 will not be eligible to register in HERM 501).
HERM 301: Introduction to Heritage Resources Management introduces students to heritage resources management and creates a base for further study of the contemporary heritage field. Students study types of practice and current and emerging issues, as well as the social context, controversies, ethical questions and general concerns that characterize efforts in heritage preservation and the work carried out in museums, archives, historic places and interpretive centres. Within this theoretical and applied framework, students will begin to develop approaches and skills in administration, collecting, conservation and preservation, interpretation, audience development and visitor services.
Outline
Unit 1: Heritage Resources Management
Unit 2: Types of Practice: Museums and Archives
Unit 3: Types of Practice: Historic Places Management
Unit 4: Structuring Practice: Governance and Ethics
Unit 5: Justifying Heritage Through Tourism
Unit 6: Who Controls the Past?
Unit 7: What to Keep and Why: Determining Heritage Significance
Unit 8: Conservation
Unit 9: Approaches to Heritage Education
Unit 10: Interpretive Programming
Evaluation
To receive credit in HERM 301, you must complete all the assignments and achieve a minimum course composite grade of D (50 percent). The chart below summarizes the course activities and the credit weight associated with each assignment.
Activity
Weight
Assignment 1: Experiential Diary
15%
Assignment 2: Essay on Readings
20%
Assignment 3: Research Essay
40%
Assignment 4: Critical Review of an Online Exhibition
25%
Total
100%
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.
Materials
The Standard Practices Handbook for Museums, 3rd ed. Edmonton: Alberta Museums Association, 2014. (Print)
In Time and Place. Master Plan 2005. Edmonton: Alberta Community Development, 2005. (PDF)
Important note: TheStandard Practices Handbook will be used in other courses in the Heritage Resources Management Program. You must keep your copy of this book if you intend to take other courses in the program.
Other Materials
All other course materials are available online through the course home page and the Digital Reading Room.
Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized-study counterparts.
Opened in Revision 2, February 13, 2018
Updated July 15, 2021, by Student & Academic Services