Heritage Pathway is a series of training and engagement activities which run termly. Since 2015, Heritage Pathway has provided undergraduate and postgraduate students, along with Early Career Researchers at the University of Oxford with the skills, knowledge and confidence to engage effectively with a wide range of partners in the heritage, museums and cultural sector.
Heritage Pathway is designed and delivered by Alice Purkiss and Dr Rachel Delman and organised through the Humanities Researcher Training and Development Programme.
Through a combination of lectures, workshops and site visits led by expert practitioners, participants understand their research in a wider context and gain experience in the heritage, museums and cultural sector. Heritage Pathway opens up new avenues for careers and collaborations, while reinforcing researchers’ ability to complete their research projects and academic tasks in a timely fashion.
Heritage Pathway enables participants to:
• Understand the opportunities and constraints within each sector of heritage.
• Understand the different language and vocabulary required to create successful collaborations.
• Explore how their research experience and expertise can contribute to organisations.
• Develop the skills and confidence to create collaborative research-led projects.
• Join a cohort of like-minded undergraduates, postgraduates and early career researchers.
• Develop and enhance networking abilities with internal and external colleagues.
Previous sessions have explored themes including:
• Heritage and its Audiences
• Case Studies in Collaboration: Digital Projects
• Researching, Curating and Interpreting Collections
• Careers in the Heritage and Museums Sectors
• CVs and Cover Letters for the Heritage Sector
• Commercial Heritage
• Cataloguing and Digital Projects
• Cataloguing and Spectrum Standards
• Interpretation
• Diversifying Heritage
• Communicating Heritage
• Working with Objects
• Heritage and Landscape
• Heritage and Authenticity
Site visits always include opportunities to meet with senior leaders and managers to discuss the ways in which research and the day-to-day and strategic concerns of sites and organisations intersect. Previous visits include: Compton Verney Art Gallery and Park, Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft, Black Country Living Museum, and Charleston Farmhouse.
The programme team also organised an international trip to Amsterdam to enable participants to explore European research culture, museums and heritage organisations. This trip was scheduled to take place in March 2020 but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 crisis.
For further information please contact training@humanities.ox.ac.uk.
Follow the Twitter chats @Oxford_Heritage and #HeritagePathway.
Current Issues in Arts & Heritage: Heritage Tourism
Wednesday 3 May 2023, 11am - 12.30pm
Online
Beyond the country house, what does Heritage Tourism look like? In this session, we will consider the role played by heritage in the UK tourism industry. Our speakers will explore how decisions are made, how heritage interacts with other tourism industries, and what the ingredients for a successful heritage tourism attraction are.
Speakers:
- Dr Chris Tuckley, Head of Interpretation and Learning, The JORVIK Group
- Katerina Kremmida, Director of Heritage Attractions, Hampshire Cultural Trust
More information and booking >>
Diverse Visitor Programmes for Diverse Audiences Workshop
Wednesday 17 May 2023, 11am - 1pm
Online and In-person
This interactive workshop will introduce participants to accessible programming, providing an insight into building, designing and developing programmes for audiences including people with disabilities, young people and community groups. Drawing from a range of examples from across the culture and heritage sectors, the session will provide practical tips alongside a discussion of working in – or collaborating with – accessible programme design.
This workshop will be led by Jo Bradshaw, Senior National Consultant, Partnerships and Programmes for the National Trust and Clore Cultural Leadership Fellow.
More information and booking >>
Careers in Heritage: The World of Auction Houses
Wednesday 8th March, 8am-5pm
Online
Behind the luxury goods, record-breaking prices and excitement of sale day work a vast and highly specialised workforce whose roles range from researchers and subject specialists to communications, events and legal experts – plus everything in between. This session will introduce the world of auction houses and provide a glimpse into the many roles that make this international, multi-billion-pound industry run, and the opportunities it offers for researchers from a range of subject backgrounds.
Held in partnership with University of Oxford Careers Service.
Speaker:
- Archie Williams, Cataloguer of Islamic Art and Oriental Carpets, Christie’s Auction House
More information and booking >>
Visit to Hampton Court Palace
Wednesday 14 June 2023, all day
Online
This term’s Heritage Pathway Trip will be to the magnificent Hampton Court Palace, Henry VIII’s favoured residence on the banks of the River Thames. During our visit, we will meet with senior staff at Historic Royal Palaces, the charity responsible for curating the site. The day will include a bespoke tour of the palace with one of HRP’s senior curators, and a Q&A session with the organisation’s Research Manager. The trip will give attendees key insights into the curation of one of the world’s most iconic landmarks.
Tour guides:
- Dr Marianne Wilson, Research Manager (Interim), Historic Royal Palaces
- Dan Jackson, Head Buildings Curator, Historic Royal Palaces
Places are strictly limited and are allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. We will be travelling by coach which will pick us up at 8.45am outside the Radcliffe Humanities Building.
More information and booking >>
TORCH Heritage Programme Homepage
National Trust Partnership Homepage
Oxford University Heritage Network
Humanities Researcher Development Support
TORCH Heritage Programme Homepage
National Trust Partnership Homepage
Oxford University Heritage Network
Humanities Researcher Development Support
