All Courses at the Faculty of Information
Below is the course directory, a searchable list of courses offered by the Faculty of Information, including course descriptions, pre-requisites, co-requisites and other relevant information.
Students wishing to build their timetable should visit the following links:
- Undergraduate Students: Visit Timetable Builder at ttb.utoronto.ca
- Graduate Students: Visit the Graduate Course Timetable
Description
MSL1150H — Collection Management This course is designed to provide an understanding of objects, the storage, handling, conservations and management of collections, that is, the activities upon which the curatorial, research and educational functions of the museum are based.
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MSL1230H — Ethics, Leadership, Management This course introduces a perspective based on museum ethics and contemporary approaches to leadership in order to address key concepts, contexts and issues of museum management: the changing missions, external environments and stakeholders of contemporary museums, organizational structure and design, mission, policy and strategy, planning and programming, marketing, museum economics […]
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MSL1300H — Contemporary Theories of Art and Culture This inter-disciplinary course offers students an overview of a wide range of contemporary developments in theoretical approaches to the study of art and culture. In particular, the course focuses on the recent turn towards more socially and historically-grounded modes of analysis within a number of disciplines and […]
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MSL1350H — Museums and their Publics This course introduces students to people and communities who do, and do not, visit museums. General topics covered include: studying visitor experiences in physical museums and on their websites; museums as sites for constructing meaning and lifelong learning; on-site and online museum visits that personally change or transform individuals; […]
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MSL2000H — Curatorial Practice Curation is no longer a practice solely attached to the museum as it has been coopted by several communities and cultural producers, from bloggers to makers, and even chefs. It is in this context, full of contradictions about what curation represents – the skilled practice of the museum professional trained to […]
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MSL2050H — Curating Science Science subjects dominate the museum field — natural history, zoology, botany, anthropology, astronomy, palaeontology, archaeology, and classical physics to name but a few. Furthermore, the history of modern science is tied to the history of museums and in many ways public displays of science have influenced the development of science itself. […]
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MSL2100H — Museum Environment This course is an introduction to preventive conservation. As such, it focuses on: identifying and quantifying the environmental factors that affect collections; developing strategies that mitigate those factors; understanding the materials that make up a museum collection – how they degrade, react to their environment and the objects around them; and […]
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MSL2115H — Global Cultures and Museums This course examines museums and other cultural institutions – public memorials, UNESCO heritage sites or national parks – from a global perspective. The course looks at museums as participants within a global network of institutions, communities and practices informed by diverse histories – colonialism, post-colonialism, socialism, apartheid, etc. It […]
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MSL2230H — Nature & Culture: Histories of Heritage Interpretation in North America In North America, heritage interpretation is a professional field with complex histories, which have significant impacts on the current practices. This course delves deep into these histories to trace the foundations of heritage interpretation as a field of practice, with its values and […]
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MSL2235H — Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the GLAM Sector This course builds the case for integrating equity, diversity and inclusion within cultural organizations and museological, archival and library approaches. Building on local, national and international best practices in which GLAMs apply an equity lens to advance the mission and values of their sites, this […]
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MSL2240H — The Photographic Record This course examines photographic histories in their complex relations to institutions of collection and display. It looks at the production and circulation of photographs within particular institutional frameworks to explore the discursive production of photographic meaning in relation to the development of photographic technologies, and social, cultural and economic histories.
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MSL2255H — Social Digital Memory This course introduces students to the theoretical frameworks and practices of digital memory, identity and participatory heritage involving networked communication, virtual communities, and social media. It aims to address the increased importance of online social networks and digital communication as fields relevant to the formation of the contemporary social and […]
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MSL2301H — Special Topics in Museum Studies: Artifact, Audience, Text: Writing in the Museum This course will critically examine the role of text in museum professional practice. Whether brick-and-mortar or virtual, large or small, art or historical or natural history, all museums cultural institutions use text to carry out their missions. Whether internal or public-facing, […]
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MSL2302H — Foundations in Visitor Research This course is intended to provide students with an introduction to the history, theory, and practice of visitor research in museums. Through course readings, guest lectures by museum professionals working in the field, and practical experience with instrument development as well as data collection, analysis and reporting, among other […]
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MSL2303H (Summer 2021, Summer 2020) — Special Topics in Museum Studies: “Difficult” Heritages and Precarious Times This course delves into discussions surrounding “difficult” heritages, “dark” tourism and stories of conflict, pain and shame explored by museums, exhibitions, and historic sites. It also explores the role cultural institutions and sites play in times of conflict and […]
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MSL2304H — Special Topics in Museum Studies: Museums, Activism and Social Change This course explores the relationship between social change, activism, and museums from a global perspective, situating museums as sites of constant struggle. Recognizing that museums operate within distinct social and political contexts, this course provides an overview of selected social movements as they […]
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This course (MSL2305H – Special Topics in Museum Studies: Equity, Empathy and Ethics in Digital Heritage Research and Practice) is designed for emerging GLAM professionals seeking to create and contribute to digital heritage projects in the GLAM sector that actively integrate ethical commitments, pursue equity, and build and express empathy. As digital projects are increasingly […]
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Museum programming – live, discursive, performance rather than object based – is a site for inclusive community-engaged work which fuels other areas of museum practice, including exhibitions, collections, and leadership. This course uses the disability justice tenets to provide students with critical frameworks and discrete critical practices (tools, methods, strategies) for the design and implementation […]
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This course, (MSL2307H – Special Topics in Museum Studies: Memory and Power), explores the ways in which societies conserve, commemorate, and contest the past, and the roles played by communities, institutions, political actors, and other stakeholders in the development of public memory. Across a wide array of case studies, we will explore questions including, but […]
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MSL2325H — Museums and New Media Practice This course introduces students to the basic theories, fundamentals and practices of web based cultural projects. A central goal of the course is to examine how the Internet supports new ways of thinking and learning in museums. Students will consider new methodologies in the presentation of a museum […]
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