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Mr Neil Curtis

Mr Neil Curtis
Mr Neil Curtis
Mr Neil Curtis

FMA

Head of Museums & Special Collections

About
Email Address
neil.curtis@abdn.ac.uk
Telephone Number
+44 (0)1224 274304
Office Address

Sir Duncan Rice Library University of Aberdeen Aberdeen AB24 3AA Scotland

School/Department
Digital & Information Services

Biography

Neil Curtis is Head of Museums and Special Collections and Honorary Senor Lecturer in Social Science at the University of Aberdeen.

He has studied Archaeology (Glasgow), Museum Studies (Leicester) and Education (Aberdeen), and has worked with the Aberdeen collections since 1988. He teaches across a range of subjects, including Archaeology, Anthropology, Art History, History, Law, Museum Studies and Scottish Ethnology. His published research includes current museum issues, including repatriation, decolonisation and ethics, the history of museums and exhibitions in Scotland, and the prehistory of North-East Scotland.

He is a Fellow of the Museums Association and is a member of the working group reviewing its Code of Ethics. He has been a member of the Museums Associations' Ethics Committee, the Scottish Museums Recognition Committee, Convenor of University Museums in Scotland, Vice President of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Vice-Chair of the Scottish Archaeological Finds Allocation Panel and Vice-President of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.

Memberships and Affiliations

Internal Memberships

University Health, Safety & Wellbeing Committee

External Memberships

Fellow of the Museums Association (FMA)

Member, Museums Associations' Ethics Committee

Member, Scottish Museums Recognition Committee

Member; Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art at Arts Council England

 

Formerly:

Convenor, University Museums in Scotland, Vice President of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland

Vice-Chair, Scottish Archaeological Finds Allocation Panel

Vice-President, Society of Antiquaries of Scotland

Latest Publications

View My Publications

Research

Research Overview

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.

Research Specialisms

  • Archaeology
  • Curatorial Studies
  • Museum Studies
  • Scottish History

Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is HESA open data, published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.

Current Research

History of Museums

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

Contemporary museum issues

  1. Repatriation
  2. Museums as sacred places
  3. Human remains in museums
  4. Scottish museums and Treasure Trove
  5. Museum education

Scottish archaeology

  1. Roman finds in North-East Scotland
  2. Prehistoric Beakers in North-East Scotland

Funding and Grants

Leverhulme Trust 'Beakers and Bodies' project (PI)

AHRC Connected Communities - bennachie (Co-I)

Teaching

Teaching Responsibilities

Undergraduate

AY1003 Archaeology in Action
ME33HA Medical Humanities
AH3501 Curation: Theory and Practice
AY4510 Issues in Archaeology
AY2505/AY2507 Archaeology of the North
   
   
   
   

Postgraduate

AT5912 Curating an Exhibition (course co-ordinator)
AT5044 Museum Practice (course co-ordinator)
AT5043 The Museum Idea
AT5053 Museums and Colonialism
LS55UU Cultural Property Issues: Law, Art and Museums
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
AY5504 Advanced Archaeological Approaches
Publications

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  • Exploring Co-production in Community Heritage Research: Reflections from the Bennachie Landscapes Project

    Oliver, J., Armstrong, J., Curtis, E., Curtis, N., Vergunst, J.
    Journal of Community Archaeology & Heritage, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 196-215
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Pyramidology and Radiocarbon: the Dating and Interpretation of a Fragment of Wood from the Great Pyramid

    Curtis, N., Eladany, A.
    CIPEG Journal, vol. 4, pp. 75-82
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • 3D photogrammetry models of human specimens: a useful resource for teaching and public engagement (Keynote Talk)

    Gröning, F., Perez-Pachon, L., Aliotta, S., Collas, C., Fertikova, A., Koos, N., Struck, R., Curtis, N., Crozier, R.
    Anatomical Society Virtual Winter Meeting, O20
    Contributions to Journals: Abstracts

  • Material culture, museums and the creations of multiple meanings

    Curtis, N.
    Oxford Handbook of History and Material Culture. Oxford Handbooks, pp. 474-490
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters

  • Megalithic tombs in western and northern Neolithic Europe were linked to a kindred society

    Sanchez-Quinto, F., Malmström, H., Fraser, M., Girdland Flink, E., Svensson, E. M., Simoes, L., George, R., Hollfelder, N., Burenhult, G., Noble, G., Britton, K., Talamo, S., Curtis, N., Brzobohata, H., Sumberova, R., Götherström, A., Storå, J., Jakobsson, M.
    PNAS, vol. 116, no. 19, pp. 9469-9474
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Beakers and bodies in north-east Scotland: a regional and contextual study

    Curtis, N., Wilkin, N.
    The Beaker People: Isotopes, Mobility and Diet in Prehistoric Britain. Parker Pearson, M., Sheridan, A., Jay, M., Chamberlain, A., Richards, M., Evans, J. (eds.). Oxbow Books
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters

  • Shaping heritage in the landscape amongst communities past and present

    Vergunst, J., Curtis, E., Curtis, N., Oliver, J., Shepherd, C.
    Heritage as Community Research: Legacies of co-production. Graham, H., Vergunst, J. (eds.). 1st edition. Policy Press, pp. 27-50, 24 pages
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters

  • Celebrating the end of Scottish history? National identity and the Scottish Historical Exhibition, Glasgow, 1911

    Curtis, N. G. W.
    Roots of Nationhood: The Archaeology and History of Scotland. Campbell, L., Wright, D., Hall, N. A. (eds.). Archaeopress
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters

  • Reconstructing diet at the Neolithic stalled cairn of the Knowe of Rowiegar, Rousay, Orkney, using stable isotope analysis

    Gigleux, C., Richards, M. P., Curtis, N., Hutchison, M., Britton, K.
    Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, vol. 13, pp. 272-280
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Beaker people in Britain: Migration, mobility and diet

    Parker Pearson, M., Chamberlain, A., Jay, M., Richards, M., Sheridan, A., Curtis, N., Evans, J., Gibson, A., Hutchison, M., Mahoney, P., Marshall, P., Montgomery, J., Needham, S., O'Mahoney, S., Pellegrini, M., Wilkin, N.
    Antiquity, vol. 90, no. 351, pp. 620-637
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • The Thing about Replicas: Why Historic Replicas Matter

    Foster, S. M., Curtis, N. G. W.
    European Journal of Archaeology, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 122-148
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Placing the North

    Oliver, J., Curtis, N.
    Historical Archaeology, vol. 49, no. 3, pp. 7-20
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Collections, Collaboration and Communities: an introduction

    Curtis, N.
    Journal of Museum Ethnography, vol. 28, pp. 3-10
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • The place of history, literature and politics in the 1911 Scottish Exhibition

    Curtis, N. G. W.
    Scottish Literary Review, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 43-74
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • ‘A Welcome and Important Part of their Role’: The impact of repatriation on museums in Scotland

    Curtis, N.
    Museums and Restitution: New Practices, New Approaches. Tythacott, L., Arvanitis, K. (eds.). Ashgate Publishing Ltd., pp. 85-104, 21 pages
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters

  • Challenging collections: The public engagement role of the University of Aberdeen’s museums

    Curtis, N.
    University Museums and Collections Journal (UMACJ), vol. 7, pp. 82-89
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Public Engagement, Research and Teaching: The Shared Aims of the University of Aberdeen and its Museums

    Curtis, N. G. W.
    A Handbook for Academic Museums: Beyond Exhibitions and Education. Jandl, S., Gold, M. (eds.). Museums etc., pp. 43-68, 25 pages
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters

  • The Regionality of Beakers and Bodies in the Chalcolithic of North-East Scotland

    Curtis, N. G. W., Wilkin, N.
    Is there a British Chalcolithic?: People, place and polity in the later 3rd millennium. Allen, M., Gardiner, J., Sheridan, A. (eds.). The Prehistoric Society & Oxbow Books, pp. 237-256, 20 pages
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters

  • Repatriation from Scottish museums: learning from NAGPRA

    Curtis, N. G. W.
    Museum Anthropology, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 234-248
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Review of 'What are archives? Cultural and theoretical perspectives: a reader'

    Curtis, N.
    Journal of the Society of Archivists, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 76-78
    Contributions to Journals: Reviews of Books, Films and Articles

  • The absurdity of museums; local and universal: comment on Sandis, C ‘Two tales of one city: cultural understanding and the Parthenon sculptures

    Curtis, N. G. W.
    Museum Management and Curatorship, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 10-13
    Contributions to Journals: Comments and Debates

  • North America in Aberdeen: the collections of Marischal Museum, University of Aberdeen

    Curtis, N. G. W.
    Material Histories: Proceedings of a Workshop Held at Marischal Museum, University of Aberdeen, 26-27 April 2007. Brown, A. K. (ed.). University of Aberdeen, pp. 69-75, 6 pages
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters

  • 'Like stray words or letters': The development and workings of the Treasure Trove system

    Curtis, N. G. W.
    West over Sea: Studies in Scandinavian Sea-Borne Expansion and Settlement Before 1300. Ballin Smith, B., Taylor, S., Williams, G. (eds.). Brill Academic Publishers, pp. 341-362, 22 pages
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters

  • "The original may yet be discovered”: Seven Bronze Age swords supposedly from Netherley, Kincardineshire

    Curtis, N. G. W.
    Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. 137, pp. 487-500
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Universal museums, museum objects and repatriation: the tangled stories of things

    Curtis, N. G. W.
    Museum Management and Curatorship, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 117-127
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Education and Marischal Museum: a century of teaching , learning and research

    Curtis, N. G. W.
    Education in the North, vol. 14, pp. 31-38
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Museums in a postmodern world: collections, exhibitions and opinions

    Curtis, N. G. W.
    Public Archaeology, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 199-202
    Contributions to Journals: Comments and Debates

  • 'A continuous process of reinterpretation': the challenge of the universal and rational museum

    Curtis, N. G. W.
    Public Archaeology, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 50-56
    Contributions to Journals: Letters

  • The collection of Book of the Dead manuscripts in Marischal Museum, University of Aberdeen, Scotland: a comprehensive overview

    Curtis, N. G. W., Kockelmann, H., Munro, I.
    Bulletin de L'Institut Francais d'Archeologie Orientale, vol. 105, pp. 49-73
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Book review of Steedman, C (2002) Dust: the archive and cultural history

    Curtis, N. G. W.
    Journal of the Society of Archivists, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 221-222
    Contributions to Journals: Reviews of Books, Films and Articles

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