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Heritage on Display in Museums - Weimar 2006
HERMES Summer Course 2006 ‘Heritage on Display – Investigating Museums in the Context of Local and Regional Development’
Date: 12 – 26th August 2006
Venue: Weimar, Germany; European Youth Education Centre (EJBW)
One of the aims of the HERMES project is to provide educational offers for young experts and professionals from all over the CADSES space (see www.swkk.de/hermes). It is understood as a means of continuous capacity-building and networking both within the project’s framework and beyond. The third HERMES Summer Course in Weimar, to be held on 12 – 26th August 2006, is intended to be another important milestone in this regard. The first Summer Course (2004) pursued a general approach to the topic of cultural heritage and regional development, while the second edition (2005) focused on the role of mass media in the construction and presentation of heritage. Building on the experience and the results from these events, the third and final edition will look at museums from various angles, with particular regard to development issues at the local level.
The course, which will be tutored by Sebastian Schröder-Esch, is designed for 12-15 participants. As in the previous years, every HERMES partner is invited to nominate 1-2 well-qualified and motivated persons each (aged 20-35) for participation. Should the number of applications exceed the places available, the most suitable candidates will be selected. Costs for travel, accommodation and tuition will be covered entirely by HERMES. Applicants must have a profound knowledge of English, the working language of the seminar. They should also be prepared to work individually as well as in groups on all elements of the course, comprising both theoretical and practical aspects. Previous experience with and interest in issues related to cultural heritage, museums and regional development would be very advantageous.
The overall aim of the course will be to examine and discuss critically the role of the museum as an established institution in the heritage sector. Course work will comprise lectures, reading, discussions, practical workshops, and presentations in class. The focus of the seminar will rest on the following main topics and activities:
- discussing the basic terms ‘culture’, ‘heritage’, ‘museum’, ‘museumification’ and ‘development’ – based on theoretical approaches mainly from cultural studies, museology and geography, the (possible) connections between these concepts will be examined;
- (re)presenting heritage: museums as one form of preserving heritage and making it accessible; what are pros and cons, alternatives etc. to this approach? what conflicts can arise between the objectives of local & regional development and heritage preservation?
- a perspective on museums as political institutions – in what way are museums an institutionalised form of the politics of heritage and representation (with particular regard to the European countries in transition);
- ‘capitalising on the past’: museums as an asset used for local and regional development –discussing advantages and drawbacks of this strategy;
- a practical workshop in which participants will produce journalistic features (audio & text) on selected museums (e.g. in Weimar) as case-studies; the results will be broadcast via the HERMES Heritage Radio (www.heritageradio.net).
All project partners are invited to nominate junior employees, PhD students, researchers, practitioners etc. not later than 15th May 2005. A complete application should contain a CV (containing information on the applicant’s background, current position and occupation), a short letter of intent from each applicant (explaining the motivation for participation), as well as a short reference from a representative of the respective HERMES partner institution.
– Summary –
In the time of 12-26 August 2006, the third and final HERMES Summer Course in Weimar was held, this time dedicated to the topic ‘Heritage on Display – Investigating Museums in the Context of Local and Regional Development’. Altogether thirteen participants from eight countries in Central, East, and South-East Europe attended the event, out of which five were sent directly by HERMES project partners (BNR, DEMEKAV, MIK).
The overall objective of the summer course was twofold: on the one hand, it aimed at exploring the role of museums in heritage work and their (potential) significance for local and regional development, thereby emphasising the aspect of representation and display of heritage. On the other hand, the course sought to bring together young professionals from and within the HERMES context and beyond, in order to establish a network for future collaboration.
The summer course, which was facilitated by Sebastian Schröder-Esch, pursued a combination of various methodical approaches, and it comprised several events. Apart from lectures (often by external guests, such as Beatrice Jaschke from Vienna/A and Dr Nikolai Vukov from Sofia/BG), the reading of academic texts, and discussions in class, there were short-term workshops moderated by external lecturers (Anja Nelle from Cottbus/D, Philippe Schmidt from Weimar/D), as well as guided tours and field trips to different places in and around Weimar (e.g. Buchenwald memorial site, the Wieland museum at Ossmannstedt). The second half of the summer course was dominated by a practical journalistic workshop (with the title ‘Heritage on display’) in which all participants separated into three workgroups, each working on one of three given themes. The results of this workshop, three audiofeatures in mp3 format, have not been finalised yet, but they will be published soon on the website of the Heritage Radio Network (www.heritageradio.net).
As for the academic aspect of the course, one main result was the (possible) understanding of cultural heritage as a social construct, i.e. as the outcome of social processes in which meaning is attached to objects, events or ideas. It was shown how the concept of heritage integrates the past, the present and the future, and how it serves important cultural, political and economic purposes. Furthermore, the importance of heritage for ‘imagined communities’ such as nations and regions was discussed in the context of individual and collective identities.
The participants were able to contribute to the course in many different ways, thereby making visible their variety of backgrounds, work experiences and fields of interest. Many participants have remarked, either in the evaluation form or in personal conversations, that the summer course has enriched their knowledge about the chosen topics, and broadened their horizon for their professional as well as personal dealing with the subjects in question.
A more detailed documentation of the third Weimar Summer Course is currently in preparation; it will be circulated before the end of the project in October 2006.
Sebastian Schröder-Esch
13 September 2006
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