In a dynamic world changing rapidly every day it is crucial to know where we have been, if we want to make sense of where we are going. So, our cultural heritage – the traces of the past that are all around us – has never been more important. The physical items, places, beliefs, practices and arts of all those who have gone before are a legacy from which we draw to make sense of our lives in the present and the future. Tangible and intangible, cultural heritage reminds us of our embodied nature and our thinking lives – it fundamentally orients us to the world and reminds us what it means to be human.

Making senses of this cultural heritage is both challenging and endlessly fascinating. This field is never static and agreed, but fluid and often contested. The decisions we make about what to save and preserve, how we come to value certain aspects of the past over others, say much about us and our desires. Cultural heritage is both a subject of our festivals and celebrations and the source of our anger and frustrations. It reveals our politics and our predilections. The things that matter to us and those that don’t. How we imagine and represent ourselves, our families, our communities and our nations. 

The Centre for Heritage and Museum Studies at ANU takes you inside this world. Our courses introduce you to the study and research of how we make sense of the past and prepare you for a wide variety of careers in museums, galleries and the heritage industry. They give you the skills and capabilities you need to navigate this complex field and deal with the challenges cultural heritage faces in this age – from searching questions of restitution and repatriation to source communities, to the impacts of war, climate change and existential threats, to digital revolutions that are changing our fundamental understanding of human experience.