Research and Interpretation projects
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Baillieu Library Print Collection
Inspiring and visually striking, the Baillieu Library Print Collection includes approximately 9,000 individual works of art. It encompasses prints (engravings, woodcuts etc.), print albums, drawings, paintings, tools and books. Most of the collection is European, featuring such renowned artists as Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt and William Hogarth. It is representative of Western printmaking practitioners and techniques (relief, intaglio and planographic) dating from the 15th to the 19th century, but it also includes examples from the 20th and 21st century. The Collection was originally intended as a teaching tool for students and it continues to be used particularly by students of art history and history here at the University.
Research Assistant project – Drawing Collection
The primary goal of this position will be to complete in depth research on the collection of European drawings that are housed within the Baillieu Library Print Collection. This information will be used to better understand the drawing collection within the context of Western art history and as a resource within the University. Information will subsequently be added to the KE EMu (Electronic Museum) database which will serve to enhance and expand the collection catalogue..
Research Assistant Project – Narratives Compilation
This project involves assisting in the research, writing and compilation of interpretive material to be added to the Narratives module of the EMu (Electronic Museum) database the Print Collection’s on-line catalogue. Research findings will enhance and expand the collection catalogue. This project will expand our knowledge and understanding of the collection’s significance as well as increase public awareness of the prints and aid in their further interpretation.
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Burnley Campus Archives
The University of Melbourne's Faculty of Science, Burnley Campus, was formerly the Burnley Horticultural College amongst other incarnations. It has been teaching horticultural courses for a variety of educational institutions since 1891, although land was first put aside at the site for the Victorian Horticultural Society in the 1850s. The Burnley Campus Archives consists of over 15 metres of material that relates to the Burnley Horticultural College. The archive was initially assembled for the 1991 teaching centenary of the College and to form a research source for the publication, Green Grows Our Garden: A Centenary History of Horticultural Education at Burnley, by A.P. Winzenried, Hyland House, 1991. The Archive comprises of materials that date back to the 19th century including the College's official records (principals' administration records, registers, student attendance books, alumni deposits, student club documents etc.), photographs, news cuttings, maps, plans and films. It also contains artefacts such as ploughs, leadlight windows and jodhpurs.
Collection Management – Significance Assessment project, Burnley Campus Archives
This project involves completing a significance assessment on the Burnley Campus Archives located in the Main Building, Burnley. The significance assessment will be used to inform the status of the collection and future collection management decisions in areas such as conservation, acquisition/de-accession, valuation and access.
Curatorial Research Project – Online Exhibition
This project offers the opportunity for original curatorial research interpreting selected materials from the Burnley Campus Archives collection for presentation in an online exhibition. Under guidance, you will have the opportunity to choose a theme for the exhibition while highlighting materials from the collections. This curatorial research project will increase public awareness of the rich history of the Burnley Campus and its archives.
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Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology Cultural Collections
The Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology cultural collections (FEIT) comprise the Mechanical Engineering Collection (which includes the A.G.M Michell Engineering Collection); the Electrical Engineering Education Collection; Surveying and Geomatics Engineering Collection; and the Computing & Information Systems Collection. The School is currently creating a unified collection database for the distributed FEIT cultural collections.
Collection Documentation and Displays
This project involves working closely with the FEIT cultural collections and gives you the opportunity to document the diverse collections, undertake targeted research and assist in the development of new displays throughout the engineering precinct, including Melbourne Connect.
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International House
International House is a residential college owned by the University of Melbourne, bringing together 300 undergraduate and graduate students from Australia and overseas. International House was born from efforts by students and community members to ease housing problems faced by international students in the late 1940s and early 1950s. IH’s first residents (all male) moved in in 1957. The official opening was in 1958. The first female residents arrived in 1972, making International House the University of Melbourne’s first residential college to admit women. In 2017 International House celebrated its sixtieth anniversary. The International House Collection incorporates the IH archives and heritage collections and comprises of several hundred items which in addition to archival materials includes paintings, photographs, furniture, objects and building fragments e.g. stained glass windows. The collection has materials that relate to many important historical themes and events
Research and Interpretation project - Samuel Wadham Wing
This project involves using archival sources to research into the architectural and historical significance of the Samuel Wadham Wing at International House. The building was designed by the architectural firm Mockridge Stahle & Mitchell who designed other University and college buildings including the Medical Building (at the corner Royal Parade and Grattan Street) and the Cowan Wing at Trinity College. This year marks sixty years since the official opening of International House’s second purpose-built accommodation building, and findings from this project will improve our knowledge and appreciation of the architectural significance of ‘Wadham’.
Research and Interpretation project - History of Performing Arts at International House
This project involves using archival sources to undertake research into the history of the performing arts at International House. The House play, music nights, and other events date back to the beginnings of IH in the late 1950s and remain an important part in the artistic and community life of International House today. This project will improve our knowledge and appreciation of the role that performance has played and continues to play within International House.
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Law Rare Books Collection, University Library
The Law Rare Books Collection is an important public collection of rare and early legal texts. The collection is of research significance not only to lawyers, but also to researchers of legal, social and cultural history. It has particularly strong holdings of early printed law texts, law reports, seventeenth-century political pamphlets, classic legal texts and material relating to Australian Federation and the early years of the Commonwealth. Its 19th century holdings are a good representative example of a colonial lawyer's library and are significant for what they can tell us about the practice of law in early Victoria. The collection's links to the beginnings of the University of Melbourne – via the collections of individuals such as William Edward Hearn and Sir Redmond Barry – make it of significance to Melbourne Law School and the University community more broadly.
Collection Management – Research Assistant
The focus of this project will be to conduct research into a selection of texts and materials in the Law Rare Books Collection. New information generated will be used to enrich the catalogue and to enhance research guides that highlight the significant works within the Collection. This new research will expand our understanding of these materials and aid future appreciation, interpretation and management of the Collection.
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Museums and Collections Department
The University of Melbourne has endorsed a vision to unify its museums and collections under the umbrella of a Cultural Commons. This integrated strategy will guide the University’s cultural estate to enhance scholarly and public value and strengthen the University’s global cultural standing. The Museums & Collections Department has been established to ensure coordination and alignment with University objectives. The Department is responsible for Buxton Contemporary, Science Gallery Melbourne, Ian Potter Museum of Art, Old Quadrangle Treasury, and the Grainger Museum. The Department aims to build a collaborative and flexible network around the University’s cultural assets so students, staff members local and global communities gain knowledge and understanding of contemporary and traditional cultures, scientific discovery and creative practice.
Grainger Museum – Grainger Amplified - Research and Interpretation project (3 students)
For this project you will have the opportunity to select an object (or a group of objects) on display in Grainger Amplified, and research and interpret its history, meaning and place in the collection and exhibition. Research findings will enhance and expand our knowledge and understanding of the collection, increase public awareness and further interpretation of the Grainger collections.
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Rare East Asian Collection
The East Asian Collection, consisting of the General East Asian Collection and Rare East Asian Collection was established after Professor Harry Simon was appointed by the University as the foundation Professor of Oriental Studies (now absorbed into The Asia Institute) in the early 1960s. Since then, the collection has grown with an on-going program of new acquisitions. The Rare East Asian Collection comprises both Chinese and Japanese rare books. The Chinese collection has thousands of volumes dating from the 1600s, in the areas of history, literature, archaeology, art, education, daily life, and medicine. The collection includes books, facsimiles, paintings on scrolls, calligraphy, rubbings, and printed ephemera. The smaller Japanese component has a focus on history, art, architecture, language learning, teaching and popular culture. There are items relating to the Kanto earthquake (Kanto Daishinsai) of 1923 and ephemera relating to the Second World War. The Rare East Asian Collection was transferred to the Library’s Special Collections in 2008. The Rare East Asian Collection can be accessed by students, researchers and public in the Reading Room. In recent years, the Library has purchased important manuscripts of the Chinese Cultural Revolution diaries, booklets and posters which have attracted research interest from academics internally and overseas.
Curatorial translation project – 斯文在兹 (Here lives our cultures) (project assigned)
This project offers the opportunity to assist in the interpretation and translation of text for the object labels for the upcoming exhibition 斯文在兹 (Here lives our cultures). This bilingual exhibition to be held in the Noel Shaw Gallery in 2023 will showcase the breadth of the Rare East Asian Collection with an emphasis on Chinese culture and will increase awareness and appreciation of these significant collections to a wider audience.
Project guide
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Rare East Asian Collection and Arts West (combined project)
Curatorial research project –Display of Chinese scrolls (project assigned)
This project offers the opportunity for original curatorial research interpreting and providing insight into a reproduction scroll held in the Rare East Asian Collection. The project will involve selecting a scroll from the collection and undertaking research to produce an exhibition label which will accompany its display in the Arts West building.
Project guide