Anthropology of aesthetic experiences
Master AnthropologieParcours Muséologie : patrimoines immatériels et collections

Description

This course is a subject-specific course taught in English, included in the Masters' programmes of Master 1 anthropologie sociale et culturelle and Master 1 Muséologie, Université de Strasbourg.

 Human remains are increasingly becoming the subject of political and societal debate. Recent years have seen an increase in debates surrounding their display in museums, and restitutions demands, as well as bioethical discussions surrounding the medical uses of cells and tissues. These questions reflect a transformation in sensibilities towards the body, death and dead bodies. They have opened up a new field of analysis around issues relating to human remains and their management and care. While we often imagine that the cemetery is the only resting place for corpses, the past and present uses of human remains are in fact numerous: religious relics, Victorian “mourning jewellery”, objects made from human bones, skin or hair, medical or museum collections, etc. Bones, and most often skulls, are also displayed in memorials, catacombs, or churches, but especially in museums, where they are a violent legacy of the colonial period and racist classifications. Museums and universities are the inheritors of these collections, which are often poorly documented and whose purpose today is in question.

In this course, we will address contemporary issues and debates surrounding the use, circulation and perceptions of human remains. We will focus in particular on how contemporary social anthropology approaches this issue, as well as the ethical and practical challenges it poses for museums. What place do human remains have in our contemporary societies? Are funerals their only legitimate destination? We will seek to demonstrate the complexity of the qualification processes surrounding them.

Compétences visées

Course objectives: 

• Encourage students to improve their listening comprehension and use of the English language. 
• Promoting the use of English as the language of academic exchange 
• Introduce students to the issues and questions surrounding human remains representation, care and uses, from the perspective of social anthropology and museology.
• Provide students with a thorough understanding of current debates surrounding human remains 

Modalités d'organisation et de suivi

The course will be assessed by a 15-minute oral evaluation consisting of the candidate presenting the main ideas of a text in English and a discussion about the text.

Contacts

Responsable(s) de l'enseignement

• Clara Duterme

MCC

Les épreuves indiquées respectent et appliquent le règlement de votre formation, disponible dans l'onglet Documents de la description de la formation.

Régime d'évaluation

ECI (Évaluation continue intégrale)

Coefficient

1.0

Évaluation initiale / Session principale - Épreuves