Yay for school! (for lack of a better title)

I’m an enrolled student at the University of New South Wales in Sydney Australia! I accepted my offer to study long ago, but I registered for classes yesterday so now I actually have classes to attend when school starts July 19th. I listed the courses and their descriptions below for any person who cares to know what I’m taking in this first semester of postgraduate study. Also, I copied and pasted the descriptions straight from the online handbook. I did not change any wording or spelling. While reading, notice how those crazies spell organization! Good to know that if I get marked off for spelling more than likely I have the excuse of “that’s how we spell it in America!”

Management and Organisation: Systems, Services and Survival
This course examines the management and administrative skills and knowledge required from individuals to take up positions as directors and managers of arts and related organisations. It covers aspects of management and organisational structures in existing institutions both large and small, public and commercial. It includes the establishment of new organisations and the planning and development of systems designed to ensure the delivery of services and the long term survival of arts organisations and institutions, their human and material resources and the ideas and ideals which drive them.

Cultural Property, Ethics and the Law
This course examines the ethical and legal implications of the interactions generated between artists, exhibiting spaces and the viewing/purchasing public in contemporary society. It enables the development of a broader critical perspective on the cultural, legal, political and moral contexts of gallery and museum management. Issues discussed include contracts, copyright, acquisitions and disposal of works, moral rights and censorship, conflict of interest, the responsibilities of trustees.

Organisational Psychology: Managing People in the Workplace
This course provides individuals working in an arts based organisation with competencies relevant to the inter-personal and inter-group skills demanded in the efficient and effective management of organisations. It aims to fulfil the needs of individuals interested in the principles of planning, organisation, communication and evaluation of personnel within an organisation and, as well, the needs of directors and supervisors who wish to develop expertise in essential personnel management aspects of their job within an appropriate theoretical framework.

Visual and Museum Cultures of the Asia-Pacific Region
This course introduces a comparative study of contemporary visual art and museum cultures in the Asia-Pacific region. As arts professionals - curators, administrators, writers, etc - develop relationships with colleagues through the region, an understanding, not only of the visual arts but also of the museum sector, is becoming essential. Case studies of international exhibitions, and related arts programs, will be examined.