1. PREAMBLE

1.1 These regulations shall be read in conjunction with the Faculty of Arts Regulations and the General Academic Regulations for Postgraduate Degrees, hereinafter referred to as the General Regulations.

1.2 The Master of Arts in Cultural Heritage Studies degree is a four semester block release programme aimed at widening the students’ knowledge base in the field of Cultural Heritage Management and equipping them with the requisite skills.

2. OBJECTIVES

The general objectives are to:

2.1 promote high conceptual and inquisitive skills in Cultural Heritage issues.

2.2 develop competencies within specialist Cultural Heritage areas.

2.3 generate interest for research in Cultural Heritage.

3. CAREER PROSPECTS

3.1 Students of Master of Arts in Cultural Heritage Studies degree programme have career opportunities in a wide range of institutions and organisations (private and public) dealing in human culture research, museum curation, cultural organisation management, environmental management, heritage consultancy, parks and wildlife management and university lectureship.

4. ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

4.1 To be eligible for the programme, an applicant must have a good first degree in any of the following:

(1) Archaeology, Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies.

(2) History and Culture.

(3) Anthropology, Ethnography, African Languages and Culture.

(4) Visual or Fine Arts, Art History, Art Curatorship, Art History or approved equivalent from any recognised university.

5. GENERAL PROVISIONS

5.1 The degree programme shall be four semesters with residential contact time each semester.

5.2 The programme consists of core modules, electives and a dissertation

5.3 Students will study a total of twelve 4 credit modules plus a dissertation worth 12 credits.

5.4 To pass, a student is required to accumulate a minimum of 60 credits.

6. ASSESSMENT

6.1 Continuous Assessment

Continuous assessment shall comprise of at least two assignments and shall constitute 40% of the final mark.

6.2 Examinations

Candidates will be required to sit for a four hour examination in each module. The examination mark shall constitute 60% of the final mark.

6.3 In order to pass, a candidate should obtain at least 50% of continuous assessment and examination combined.

6.4 Dissertation

Refer to Section 8 of the General Academic Regulations.

7. FAILURE TO SATIFY EXAMINERS

Refer to Section 9 of the General Academic Regulations.

8. PROVISION FOR PROGRESSION

To proceed from one level to another a candidate should pass at least 75% of the modules in that level.

9. GRADING AND DEGREE CLASSIFICATION

Refer to Section 21.2 of the General Academic Regulations.

10. PUBLICATION OF RESULTS

Results shall be published in accordance with the provisions of the General Academic Regulations.

 

DEGREE PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

Not all electives will be offered in any given semester. Electives on offer will depend on availability of staff.

Module Code	Description	Credits
Level 1 Semester 1
MCHS 701	Managing Archaeological Sites	4
MCHS 702	Approaches to Conservation	4
MCHS 703	Research Methods and Publications	4
MCHS 704	Funding Strategies for Museum Projects	4
Level 1 Semester 2
MCHS 705	Marketing Cultural Heritage	4
MCHS 706	Legal and Administrative Frameworks in Cultural Heritage Management	4
MCHS 708	Contemporary Museological Challenges	4
ELECTIVE MODULES, CODES AND TITLES
MCHS 707	Museums and Multimedia	4
MAARC 712	Archaeology and Ethnicity	4
Level 2 Semester 1
MCHS 709	Rock Art of Africa	4
MCHS 711	Antiquities and the Law	4
MCHS 712	Cultural Heritage Management Planning Process	4
ELECTIVE MODULES, CODES AND TITLES
MCHS710	Rock Art Management	4
MMUS712	History of Art and Cultures of Zimbabwe	4
Level 2 Semester 2
MCHS820	Dissertation	12

Other electives may be selected from the module offerings of the Master of Arts in Archaeology or Master of Arts in Museum Studies.

12. MODULE SYNOPSES

MCHS 701 Managing Archaeological Sites

This module seeks to introduce students to the preservation and public presentation of Archaeological sites. It explores different approaches to valuing heritage, the aims and principles of conservation, the history of restoration theory, heritage legislation and charters and the influence of past interventions on present-day perceptions of the past.

MCHS702 Approaches to Conservation

The module seeks to give students the theoretical context in which modern day conservation and management of immovable cultural heritage in Sub-Saharan Africa is situated. This would ensure that students develop a better understanding of the major principles and concepts of conservation and their evolution. Students will also understand the relevancy of utilising these principles and concepts in the decision-making process for the management and conservation of immovable cultural heritage.

MCHS703 Research Methods and Publications

The main aim of the module is to help students acquire the technical and practical skills for research purposes. Students would examine how research methodology is applied to address issues that flow from theory and to appreciate that there are common themes among the various methodological approaches that are utilized in Archaeology, Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies. Among issues that will be addressed through readings, presentations and discussions are: the nature and scope of archaeological, Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies research, the nature of research questions and the design of research programs to address those questions. This module also provides students with the skills of proposal construction

MCHS704 Funding Strategies for Museum Project

This module provides students with basic skills and guidance regarding the drafting of museum/gallery research grant applications. It also covers application processes in order to encourage and develop the submission of high quality and well planned project proposals. Students should also understand the implication of funding strategies on the fulfilment of museum objectives.

MCHS705 Marketing Cultural Heritage

The main objective of this module is to ensure that students develop a better understanding of the various aspects of marketing heritage places. This module also seeks to introduce students to the process of packaging, promotion and utilisation of heritage places sustainably. At the end, students should have a better understanding of the various methods of marketing cultural heritage places and their possible implications in the management of such places.

MCHS706 Legal and Administrative Frameworks in Cultural Heritage Management

The main objective of this module is to introduce participants to the legal and administrative aspects of conservation and management of cultural heritage. The module will also contextualise the administration of cultural heritage within the legislative systems. Students should be able to understand the basic components of heritage legislation and the relationship between heritage legislations and other types of legal and administrative frameworks. This module also involves the evaluation of contemporary legal and administrative framework in use in Africa,

MCHS707 Museums and Multimedia

digitisation in museums and to exploit its potential. It also sees to provide an understanding of the changes that information and communication technology is bringing about to museums, the This This module seeks to provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to imaginatively use, work with and manage new media and opportunities it presents and how museums can take advantage of it. The module explains why digitisation is important for museums, and deals with the practicalities of multimedia, information and technology.

MCHS708 Contemporary Museological Challenges

The module discusses transformation and the consequent redefinition of the `Museological object’, New Museology movement and contemporary museum activities in the light of politics of globalisation. It also analyses how a change in mentality and the new relations of gallery institutions/discipline specialists and other professionals within the museum affect Museology both as an academic discipline and profession.

MCHS709 Rock Art of Africa

The module makes a consideration of rock art interpretation as it is applied in an African context. It provides students with an overview of the principal rock art traditions of the continent, examining the San art of Southern Africa, the `Schematic rock art zone’ of central Africa, the East African art from Tanzania, the celebrated art of Tassili and the surrounding area of the Sahara desert. This module will also use the rock art of Africa to raise issues of debate that revolve around recognition of style, sequence, composition, symbols and symbolism, the judging of relationships between figures, the application and relevancy of ethnography, the gender, the rock surface as a context, shamanism, vision experience, neuropsychology, polysemy, multivocality, art and agency.

MCHS710 Rock Art Management

This module explores the intellectual as well as the practical challenges faced by those who manage rock art. The module also centres on the development and implementation of a management plan for a single rock art site or group of sites. A section of the module focuses more closely on the technical aspects to rock art management such as methods of documentation of rock art, conservation measures that are available to arrest human and natural destructive processes and the solutions that have been realised in the context of other rock art sites.

MCHS711 Antiquities and the Law

This module examines legislation that has been enacted as both national and international levels in attempts to protect cultural heritage from pillage, with particular emphasis on UNESCO conventions. The module intends to provide students with an acute awareness to the looting from archaeological sites of cultural property which are then sold on antiquities markets, an understanding of the operation of the illegal art markets and providing a solid grounding for evaluating the relevant legal instruments that exist to protect the cultural heritage.

MCHS712 Cultural Heritage Management Planning Process

The module seeks to develop among student, the necessary skills for the development of simple, appropriate and realistic management plans for tangible and/ intangible cultural heritage. Students should be able to work on the development of management plans for selected sites. This module will also involve hands-on site management planning exercises involving the local communities.

MCHS 820 Dissertation

All students are expected to write a dissertation of about 150 pages which is the result of an individual research project undertaken during the course. This can be on any approved topic relevant to the degree and to the taught components selected. Students are assigned a Supervisor to guide the main stages of the work.