| CODE | BLH4023 | ||||||
| TITLE | Conservation Principles and Ethics | ||||||
| UM LEVEL | 04 - Years 4, 5 in Modular UG or PG Cert Course | ||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | ||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Conservation and Built Heritage | ||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The Study-unit will present an overview and critical analysis of the key conservation philosophies and practices, with specific reference to classical theories and modern thinking, in order to suggest a framework or approach to a conservation philosophy for the twenty-first century. During lectures, the principles and practices adopted by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) in England and Viollet-le-Duc in France (two main protagonists which influenced the development of restoration/conservation in the 19th century) will be analysed, to then widen the discussion on the development of how society, Eastern and Western, valued cultural heritage in the past and how that contrasts with the values attributed toward cultural heritage in the present. The discussion will build on the concepts of value, significance and authenticity in Cultural Heritage conservation. Fundamental Charters (including Venice Charter, Burra Charter) and documents will be introduced, pinpointing the importance of cultural and heritage diversity, values and authenticity (including the NARA Document on Authenticity), and examining their application and relevance for the present and future generations. The Study-unit will focus on built heritage, but also conservation ethical issues regarding wall paintings/easel paintings/sculptures will be discussed. Study-Unit Aims: The aim of this study-unit is to introduce the key stages in the development of society towards valuing the past, how the definition for what is considered to be heritage has developed over the centuries and how this has brought about the development of ethics and the current philosophies in conservation. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Discuss how the concept of cultural heritage has developed over the centuries; - Explain the characteristics of the key protagonists of conservation in the past and how they influenced the values and approaches applied today; - Explain the importance of value and ethics in any intervention; - Discuss the anthropological values in a conservation intervention. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Demonstrate how conservation ethics influence the decision making process in a conservation intervention; - Discuss the decision process involved in a conservation intervention; - Demonstrate the best intervention given a particular artifact or monument and explain how the decision is grounded in sound modern ethical principles. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: ESSENTIAL READINGS: Clark, K. (ed.) (2006) Capturing the public value of heritage, the proceedings of the London conference, 25-26 January 2006, English Heritage, Swindon. http://www.helm.org.uk/upload/pdf/Public-Value.pdf Jokilehto, J. (1999) A history of architectural conservation, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford. Lowental, D. (1995) The past is a foreign country, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. London. Morris, W., (1877) Manifesto of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Building, the SPAB, London. (http://www.spab.org.uk/what-is-spab-/the-manifesto/) Munoz Vinas, S (2005) Contemporary theory of conservation, Elsevier, Oxford. The National Gallery Cleaning Controversy, The Burlington Magazine , Feb., 1962, Vol. 104, No. 707 (Feb., 1962), pp. 49-50, Published by: (PUB) Burlington Magazine Publications Ltd. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/873589#metadata_info_tab_contents) Jenkins, I. (2001), Cleaning and Controversy: The Parthenon Sculptures, 1811-1939, Volume 146 of British Museum, Occasional paper Piqu茅, Francesca and Jean, Giacinta (2019) Ethical challenges associated with the conservation of the wall paintings in the Chapel 11 at the UNESCO site of Sacro Monte di Varallo. In: Sch盲dler-Saub, Ursula and Szmygin, B., (eds.) ICOMOS Poland and the Technical University of Lublin. (https://ph.pollub.pl/index.php/odk/article/view/1092) FURTHER READINGS: Earl, J. (2003) Building Conservation Philosophy, Donhead, Shaftesbury. Feilden, B.M. (2003) Conservation of Historic Buildings, Butterworth, Oxford; Boston. Hearn, M.F., (ed.), (1990) The Architectural Theory of Viollet Le Duc, MIT Press. Riegl, Alois (1982) The Modern Cult of Monuments: Its Character and Its Origin [1903]. Oppositions 25 (Fall 1982), 21-51. Ruskin, J., (1906) The Seven Lamps of Architecture, George Allen, London Shacklock, V. (ed.) (2006) Architectural Conservation: issues and developments, Donhead, Shaftesbury. T. Kwanda, Western conservation theory and the Asian context: The different roots of conservation, in: International Conference on Heritage in Asia: Converging Forces and Conflicting Values, Singapore 2009, 112-120. S. J. Chung, East Asian Values in Historic Conservation, 芦 J. Archit. Conserv. 禄 Xi:1, 55-70. T. Winter, Beyond Eurocentrism? Heritage conservation and the politics of difference, 芦 Int. J. Herit. Stud.禄 XX:2 (2014), 123-137. Van de Vall, R. (2015). Documenting dilemmas. On the relevance of ethically ambiguous cases. Revista de Hist贸ria da Arte, 4, 7-17. Sch盲dler-Saub, U. (2019). Conservation ethics today: are our conservation-restoration theories and practice ready for the twenty-first century? Introductory notes to some central issues. Protection of Cultural Heritage, (8), 291-300. (file:///C:/Users/chiar/Downloads/1099-Article%20Text-3006-2-10-20200330.pdf) |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Fieldwork, Ind Study, Lect, Tut & Online Learning | ||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Shirley Cefai |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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