Mr Neil Curtis

Mr Neil Curtis The University of Aberdeen Library and Historic Collections

Senior Curator work +44 (0)1224 274304 work +44 (0)1224 272599 work fax +44 (0)1224 274302 pref neil.curtis@abdn.ac.uk http://www.abdn.ac.uk/~ant014/neilcurtis.htm pref King's College University of Aberdeen Aberdeen AB24 3SW Scotland

Senior Curator

MA MLitt AMA FSA Scot

Personal Details

Telephone:	+44 (0)1224 274304 +44 (0)1224 272599
Fax:	+44 (0)1224 274302
Email:	neil.curtis@abdn.ac.uk
Personal website:	http://www.abdn.ac.uk/~ant014/neilcurtis.htm
Address:	King's College University of Aberdeen Aberdeen AB24 3SW Scotland

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Biography

Born in Glasgow in 1964, Neil Curtis came to Aberdeen in 1988 where he is now Head of Museums and Honorary Senior Lecturer in Anthropology. He studied Archaeology (Glasgow, 1986), Museum Studies (Leicester, 1988) and Education (Aberdeen, 1995).

He is married to Elizabeth Curtis, Lecturer in Education in Aberdeen.

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Research Interests

Within a broad interest in the ways that people understand and manipulate their world through ideas of identity, material and time, his research focuses on a critical study of museums and archaeology. This has included young children's learning in museums, considerations of the social and cultural roles of museums today, including repatriation and the treatment of human remains, and studies of Scottish museum history.

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Current Research

History of Museums

The Scottish Exhibition of National History, Art and Industry, Glasgow 1911
Late 18th/early 19th century museums in the University of Aberdeen

Contemporary museum issues

Repatriation
Museums as sacred places
Human remains in museums
Scottish museums and Treasure Trove
Museum education

Scottish archaeology

Roman finds in North-East Scotland
Prehistoric Beakers in North-East Scotland

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Research Grants

Leverhulme Trust 'Beakers and Bodies' project (PI)

AHRC Connected Communities - bennachie (Co-I)

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Teaching Responsibilities

Undergraduate

AY1001	Introduction to Archaeology 1
KL155B	Archaeological Fieldwork Portfolio 1 Introduction

KL205K	Archaeological Fieldwork Portfolio 2
KL3052	Archaeological Fieldwork Portfolio 3
KL3553	Archaeology DissertationIntroduction
LS4028	Moveable Property
KL4054	Archaeology Dissertation

Postgraduate

AT5508	Curating an Exhibition (course co-ordinator)
HA5001	Art History research
HI5001	Introduction to historical research
EF5001	History and core genres of ethnology and folklore
AT5505	Philosophy and Methods of Research in Social Anthropology, Ethnology and Cultural History II
EF5502	Scottish contexts and practical fieldwork
HA5504	Imaging Scottish History: Art, Museums and Visual Culture

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External Responsibilities

He is Convenor of University Museums in Scotland, Vice President of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and Secretary of its Aberdeen and North-East Section, a member of the Scottish Archaeological Finds Allocation Panel and of the Museum's Association's 2012 Confernece Panel. He was a member of the Museums Galleries Scotland Working Party on Human Remains, the Treasure Trove Advisory Panel and the Museums Association’s ‘Collections for the Future’ enquiry panel. He is a member of the University's Senate, Advisory Group on on Research Ethics and Governance and Advisory Group on Collections Strategy.

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Publications

Contributions to Journals

Articles

Curtis, NGW. (2010). 'Repatriation from Scottish museums: Learning from NAGPRA'. Museum Anthropology, vol 33, no. 2, pp. 234-248.
[Online] DOI: 10.1111/j.1548-1379.2010.01101.x
Curtis, NGW. (2007). '"The original may yet be discovered”: Seven Bronze Age swords supposedly from Netherley, Kincardineshire'. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol 137, pp. 487-500.
Curtis, NGW. (2006). 'Universal museums, museum objects and repatriation: the tangled stories of things'. Museum Management and Curatorship, vol 21, no. 2, pp. 117-127.
[Online] DOI: 10.1016/j.musmancur.2006.03.004
Curtis, NGW. (2006). 'Education and Marischal Museum: a century of teaching , learning and research'. Education in the North, vol 14, pp. 31-38.
Curtis, NGW., Kockelmann, H. & Munro, I. (2005). 'The collection of Book of the Dead manuscripts in Marischal Museum, University of Aberdeen, Scotland: a comprehensive overview'. Bulletin de L'Institut Francais d'Archeologie Orientale, vol 105, pp. 49-73.

Letters

Curtis, NGW. (2005). ''A continuous process of reinterpretation': the challenge of the universal and rational museum'. Public Archaeology, vol 4, no. 1, pp. 50-56.

Comments and Debates

Curtis, NGW. (2008). 'The absurdity of museums; local and universal: comment on Sandis, C ‘Two tales of one city: cultural understanding and the Parthenon sculptures'. Museum Management and Curatorship, vol 23, no. 1, pp. 10-13.
[Online] DOI: 10.1080/09647770701865311
Curtis, NGW. (2006). 'Museums in a postmodern world: collections, exhibitions and opinions'. Public Archaeology, vol 5, no. 3, pp. 199-202.

Reviews of Books, Films and Articles

Curtis, NGW. (2010). 'What are Archives? Cultural and Theoretical Perspectives: A Reader'. Journal of the Society of Archivists, vol 31, no. 1, pp. 76-78.
[Online] DOI: 10.1080/00379811003658526
Curtis, NGW. (2004). 'Book review of Steedman, C (2002) Dust: the archive and cultural history'. Journal of the Society of Archivists, vol 25, no. 2, pp. 221-222.
[Online] DOI: 10.1080/0037981042000271538

Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings

Chapters

Curtis, NGW. & Wilkin, N. (2012). 'The Regionality of Beakers and Bodies in the Chalcolithic of North-East Scotland'. MJ Allen, J Gardiner & A Sheridan (eds), in: Is there a British Chalcolithic? : People, place and polity in the later 3rd millennium. The Prehistoric Society & Oxbow Books, Oxford, pp. 237-256.
Curtis, NGW. (2012). 'Public Engagement, Research and Teaching: The Shared Aims of the University of Aberdeen and its Museums'. SS Jandl & MS Gold (eds), in: A Handbook for Academic Museums: Beyond Exhibitions and Education. Museums etc., pp. 43-68.
Curtis, NGW. (2007). 'North America in Aberdeen: the collections of Marischal Museum, University of Aberdeen'. AK Brown (ed.), in: Material Histories : Proceedings of a Workshop Held at Marischal Museum, University of Aberdeen, 26-27 April 2007. University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom, pp. 69-75.
Curtis, NGW. (2007). ''Like stray words or letters': The development and workings of the Treasure Trove system'. B Ballin Smith, S Taylor & G Williams (eds), in: West over Sea: Studies in Scandinavian Sea-Borne Expansion and Settlement Before 1300. The Northern World, Brill Academic Publishers, Leiden, Germany, pp. 341-362.
[Online] DOI: 10.1163/ej.9789004158931.i-614.105

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