Courses ofInstruction
Critical Museum Studies
Program Faculty
Angelique Szymanek, Art and Architecture, Chair
Affiliated Faculty
Christopher Annear, Anthropology
Nan Crystal Arens, Geoscience
Elizabeth Belanger, American Studies
Lara C. W. Blanchard, Art and Architecture
Walter Bowyer, Chemistry
James Capreedy, Greek and Roman Studies
Brian Clark, Anthropology
Leah Himmelhoch, Greek and Roman Studies
Meghan Jordan, Clarence A. Davis ’48, Visual Arts Curator
David Kendrick, Geoscience
Liliana Leopardi, Art and Architecture
John C. Marks, History
Leah Shafer, Media and Society
Virgil Slade, History
Michael C. Tinkler, Art and Architecture
The Critical Museum Studies minor introduces students to the history, function, and future of museums and other cultural institutions, combining critical analysis with hands-on experience in public history and material culture. Students learn to examine how objects, narratives, and communities are represented, while also developing practical skills relevant to contemporary museum work. The minor prepares students for careers and further study in areas such as collections care, exhibition design, installation, museum education, heritage management, art conservation, and professional writing.
Offerings
Critical Museum Studies Minor
interdisciplinary, 5 courses
Requirement:
The minor consists of one foundation course, three electives selected in consultation with the advisor, and one practicum course or internship placement that connects coursework to applied experience. The elective and practicum are selected in line with one of three tracks listed below. At least three courses must be unique to the minor. All courses for the minor must be completed with a grade of C- or better. No more than one course may be a transfer credit.
Preventative Conservation
Foundations Course (1 required)
BIDS 204 Technical Art History and Applied Chemistry for Museum Studies
CMST 220 Collections Management
CMST 225 Introduction to Technical Art History
Chemistry Courses (2 required)
CHEM 110 Introductory General Chemistry
CHEM 190 Accelerated General Chemistry
CHEM 240 Organic Chemistry I
Elective Course (1 required)
Any ARTH course
BIDS 204 Technical Art History and Applied Chemistry for Museum Studies
CMST 450 Independent Study (pre-approval required)
CMST 456 Independent Study (Half-credit) (pre-approval required)
Practicum Course (1 required, two half-credit courses allowed)
ARTS 105 Color and Composition
ARTS 114 Introduction to Sculpture
ARTS 115 Three-Dimensional Design
ARTS 125 Introduction to Drawing
ARTS 165 Introduction to Imaging
BIDS 204 Technical Art History and Applied Chemistry for Museum Studies
CMST 202 Art Internship: Catalog (.5 credit)
CMST 203 Art Internship: Exhibition (.5 credit)
CMST 204 Art Internships: Acquisition (.5 credit)
CMST 220: Collections Management
CMST 225 Introduction to Technical Art History
CMST 300: Independent Practicum (pre-approval required)
ROM 218 Art Restoration (on-site in Rome)
Track 2: Curation and Collections Management
Foundations Course (1 required)
CMST 200 Indigenous Arts of the Americas in the Museum
CMST 213 Reclaiming African Artefacts
CMST 214 Introduction to Critical Museum Studies
CMST 218 It Belongs in a Museum
CMST 220 Introduction to Collections Management
Elective Courses (3 required in consultation with advisor)
AMST 202 Drawing for Study and Storytelling
AMST 270 Storytelling with Data
AMST 330 Digital Humanities
AMST 333 Other American Studies
AMST 370 History Wars
ANTH 310 Experimental Archaeology and Paleotechnology
ANTH 326 Pre Columbian Mesoamerica
ARTH 201 Black Arts in America
ARTH 205 Gender and Display
ARTH 208 Greek Art and Architecture
ARTH 210 Women Artists
ARTH 212 Arts of Modern China
ARTH 215 Art, Culture, and National Identity in Buenos Aires (on-site, in Buenos Aires)
ARTH 221 Italian Renaissance
ARTH 234 Contemporary Rome (on-site, in Rome)
ARTH 236 Monuments & Memories, Rome (on-site, Rome)
ARTH 272 Visualizing Oral History
ARTH 282 20C American Art
CMST 200 Indigenous Arts of the Americas in the Museum
CMST 213 Reclaiming African Artefacts
CMST 214 Introduction to Critical Museum Studies
CMST 218 It Belongs in a Museum
CMST 220 Collections Management
CMST 225 Introduction to Technical Art History
CMST 450 Independent Study (pre-approval required)
CMST 456 Independent Study (Half-credit) (pre-approval required)
GSIJ 301 Visualizing Oral History
HIST 212 Historical Research Methods
HIST 229 Reclaiming African Artifacts
HIST 348 Public History
WRRH 333 Digital Rhetoric and Writing with New Technologies
Practicum Course (1 required, two half-credit courses allowed)
ANTH 310 Experimental Archaeology and Paleotechnology
ROM 218 Art Restoration (on-site in Rome)
ARTH 225 Introduction to Technical Art History
BIDS 204 Art History and Chemistry in Museums
CLAS 275 De-colonizing Ancient History
CMST 199 Provenzano Student Art Gallery internship (.5 credit)
CMST 202 Art Internship: Catalog (.5 credit)
CMST 203 Art Internship: Exhibition (.5 credit)
CMST 204 Art Internships: Acquisition (.5 credit)
CMST 220 Collections Management
CMST 225 Introduction to Technical Art History
CMST 300 Independent Practicum (pre-approval required)
CMST 380/480 The Curatorial Project
CMST 499 Provenzano Student Art Gallery- Gallery Director
Track 3: Field and Museum Archaeology
Foundations Course (1 required)
CMST 200:Indigenous Arts of the Americas in the Museum
CMST 214 Introduction to Critical Museum Studies
CMST 218 It Belongs in a Museum
Elective Courses (3 required in consultation with advisor)
ANTH 102 Archaeology and World Prehistory
ANTH 217 Precolonial Africa
ANTH 273 Research Methods
ANTH 282 North American Indians
ANTH 310 Experimental Archaeology and Paleotechnology
ANTH 326 Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica
ANTH 499 External Archaeological Field School (consult with the Anthropology Dept)
CMST 218 It Belongs in a Museum
CLAS 275 De-colonizing Ancient History
CLAS 281 Fall of the Roman Empire
CLAS 286 Ancient Epigraphy
CLAS 330 Greek Archaeology
CMST 200 Indigenous Arts of the Americas in the Museum
CMST 213 Reclaiming African Artefacts: Memory, Identity and Belonging
CMST 214 Introduction to Critical Museum Studies
CMST 218 It Belongs in the Museum
CMST 450 Independent Study (pre-approval required)
CMST 456 Independent Study (Half-credit) (pre-approval required)
GEO 220 Geomorphology
GEO 380 Palaeontology
HIST 213 Reclaiming African Artefacts
ROM 212 Sustainable Rome (on site-Rome)
Practicum Course (1 required)
ANTH 310 Experimental Archaeology and Paleotechnology
ANTH 465 Anthropology Capstone (if Anthropology major)
ANTH 499 External Archaeological Field School (consult with the Anthropology Dept)
CLAS 230 Ancient Gender and Sexuality
CLAS 286 Ancient Epigraphy
CLAS 330 Greek Archaeology
CLAS 730 Greek Archaeology
CMST 300 Independent Practicum (pre-approval required)
LAT 223 Medieval Latin
Course Descriptions
CMST 199 Provenzano Student Art Gallery internship Provenzano Student Art Gallery interns work as members of a team to manage the student-run arts space including generating exhibition themes and calls for art as well as planning and hosting various events such as art exhibitions, workshops, film screenings, poetry readings, and others as determined by the intern team. This internship provides students hands-on experience with the skills necessary to manage an arts space including art handling and installation, curation, promotion, and community out-reach. Students are encouraged to participate more than once so that peer mentoring can happen with a more consistent and contiguous knowledge being passed from more experienced interns to new ones. (Offered every semester)
CMST 200 Indigenous Arts of the Americas in Museums This course addresses the history and ethics of the collecting and display of indigenous arts of North and Central America, including ancient artistic traditions. We will study selected episodes from the late 19th century to the present, considering both the colonial or imperial origins of museums and more recent museum practices. We also will explore the intertwined histories of private and institutional collecting of indigenous arts of the Americas and consider the legality and ethics of this collecting, as well as histories of repatriation. Furthermore, we will examine collaborative practices in which contemporary artists, curators, and activists critique, contextualize, or transform historic collections and displays. Dual-listed as AMST 200. (Szymanek, offered occasionally) P3
CMST 202 Art Internship: Catalog This curatorial practicum will involve choosing and researching pieces in the Colleges' permanent collection of art and developing research components necessary for adequate publication, whether in a formal catalog or in an internal record. Research into various types of metadata and museum best practices of documentation will be included. Choices of works will be linked to gallery topics, and curated by the interns. Interns will be involved in documenting, conserving, and researching these works over the course of a term. This is a half-credit course. Dual-listed as ARTH 202. (Jordan, offered occasionally) [Prerequisite: Open to ARTH majors, or permission of instructor.]
CMST 203 Art Internship: Exhibition This internship involves studying chosen pieces from HWS’s permanent collection of art and developing components necessary for adequate exhibition of those art works. Interns will be involved in designing the exhibition from hanging to labeling over the course of the term. The term will result in an exhibition of these works from the collection. This is a half credit course. (Jordan, offered every Spring) [Prerequisite: Open to ARTH majors only, or permission of instructor.]
CMST 204 Art Internship: Acquisition This practicum involves choosing a section of HWS’s permanent collection of art and developing an analysis of its strengths and weaknesses providing a knowledge base to justify any acquisitions decisions. Interns will develop an overview of the period of art chosen and compare it to our collection over the course of a term. The term will be used to identify and purchase a work which enhances the collection in the chosen section. This is a half credit course. (Jordan, offered occasionally) [Prerequisite: Open to ARTH majors only, or permission of instructor.]
CMST 213 Reclaiming African Artefacts: Memory, Identity, and Belonging Central to the colonization of the African continent was the destruction of indigenous cultures, supposedly `inferior' to those found in Europe. Unfortunately, these perceptions of African inferiority did not extend to African art. Without exception, every colonial power looted their African colonies of cultural artefacts, the majority of which remain in western spaces. Despite several concerted campaigns to ensure the return of these stolen objects to the spaces of their origins, self-styled 'universal museums' resolutely refuse these entreaties. What is at stake for these museums in refusing calls for `repatriation'? How does the universal (ethnographic) museum deflect such calls? And most importantly, why is it urgently imperative to undermine the kind of knowledge these ethnographic museums create about African cultures and African peoples? (Slade, offered occasionally) [Antirequisite: Students can't have taken HIST 213]
CMST 214 Introduction to Museum Studies This course is an introduction to the history and theory of museums, and to institutional collecting and the interpretation of culture. The focus will be on the role of museums in colonization and nation building, involvement in globalizing processes as well as the opportunities museums offer for social advocacy. Aiming to provide a wide-ranging and challenging introduction to the theoretical issues involved in contemporary museum practice as a sociologically-informed and socially-situated discipline, this course will encourage the development of critically aware perspectives on professional practice and research processes. The aim of this course is to familiarize students from a range of subject specialisms with current issues in museology, and the ways in which museums have been developing from storehouses of culture and centers of authority to flexible places which engage with communities and invite audiences to author their own museum experiences. This course will be offered every spring. Dual-listed as AMST 214. (Szymanek or Belanger, offered annually) P4 [Prerequisite: First Years and Sophomores only. Juniors by permission.]
CMST 218 It belongs in a museum! Or does it? Controversy in Collecting Anthropological Objects In the famous cinematic showdown between the "archaeologist," Dr. Indiana Jones, and an unnamed treasure hunter, Indy delivers the famous line "It belongs in a museum!" While the franchise uses archaeology as a conceit for swashbuckling adventures among exotic ruins, it inadvertently hints at many contemporary questions circulating around the possession and study of archaeological and ethnographic subjects. Is it right that a private collector can hoard artifacts, and how does this encourage looting and forgery? Do foreign archaeologists have any right to claim the products of past civilizations "for the world" against the wishes of their contemporary descendants? Who gets to tell the history of those people, the western "expert" or the very people whose history forms an integral part of their identity? Should museums return artifacts stolen in colonial wars? Is it okay to tum human remains into public spectacles or research subjects without their consent? (What should HWS do with the Egyptian mummy in their possession?) In this course, we will survey a number of these and other questions currently vexing many stakeholders in the world of archaeological and ethnographic museums, research institutes, and collectors. Students will learn the origins of these debates in the legacies of colonialism, racism, and academia, and together we will examine many specific case studies like the Elgin marbles and Benin bronzes. Students will then be asked to take sides in moderated debates, deploying the arguments of each side to defend their positions and negotiate with others. After the class, students will be prepared to engage in similar debates and exercise due diligence and ethical consideration in future contacts with historical objects, whether it be as collector/sellers, museum staff social scientists, or merely as eager museum patrons. (Clark, offered occasionally) P3, P4
CMST 220 Introduction to Critical Collections Management and Preventive Conservation This course will introduce students to the basics of collections management, documentation and preventive conservation. The course will focus on agents of deterioration of different organic and inorganic artifacts, preventive care, issues of acquisition and registration, collection policy as well as legal and ethical issues affecting the management of museum collections. (Leopardi, offered every other year) P4
CMST 225 Introduction to Technical Art History: Materials and Techniques of Italian Renaissance Art This course will explore Technical Art History as a key component of Preventive Conservation. Knowledge of the materials and techniques of artworks and the scientific methods used to study them, is essential in approaching and creating a preventive conservation plan of an object. Knowledge of the physical properties of an art object, often revealed only through scientific tools, can provide crucial insights into its origins, creative genesis and development, dating, alterations and thus best approaches to restoring or conserving it. This course will focus on three components: the history of Renaissance panel and canvas paintings: 1) a historical review of the context and style of Renaissance paintings; 2) techniques and materials used in their creation and the scientific methods of examination and their applications; and 3) preventive conservation best practices in museum settings. (Leopardi, offered every other year) P3, P4
CMST 300 Independent Practicum This course is avalable through consulation with the student’s CMST minor advisor. It is designed to allow students to engage in a semester-long hands-on project aimed at gaining discipline specific knowledge and skills such as archiving, cataloging, conservation, collections management, and curation. This course may include work with local cultural institutions such as The Dove Block Project, Historic Geneva, Sons & Daughters of Italy Heritage Site, and Main Street Arts as well as on campus partners including work with the HWS Arts Collection and Archive. (Offered every semester; advisor permission only)
CMST 380 The Curatorial Project This is a practicum capstone course that explores the history, theory, politics, and practical knowledge of curating. In addition to critical readings, classroom discussion, writing, and exhibition design, the class organizes and realizes a student-curated art exhibition during the semester, including a full-scale gallery installation and the production of a catalog. There is also the opportunity to explore methods and technology of digital curation and virtual exhibition. Taken at the 300-level, this course fulfills the CMST capstone requirement. If taken at the 400-level, this course fulfills the ARTH capstone requirement. Students should be advised to take CMST 200, 214, or 218 to fulfill a capstone requirement. (offered occasionally, fall semester; ARTH & CMST affiliated faculty) P3, P4
CMST 450 Independent Study This course is avalable through consulation with the student’s CMST minor advisor. It is designed to allow students to create a course that focuses on an area of the discipline that is of particular interest to them. Students will work with their advisors to build a course schedule, reading list, and final project. The student may produce an advanced research paper or other project that reflects skills relevant to the field such as curation of an exhibition, production of a conservation project report, or archival research portfolio. (Offered every semester; advisor permission only) [Prerequisite: At least one CMST course]
CMST 456 Independent Study (Half credit) This course is avalable through consulation with the student’s CMST minor advisor. It is designed to allow students to create a course that focuses on an area of the discipline that is of particular interest to them. Students will work with their advisors to build a course schedule, reading list, and final project. The student may produce an advanced research paper or other project that reflects skills relevant to the field such as curation of an exhibition, production of a conservation project report, or archival research portfolio. (Offered every semester; advisor permission only) [Prerequisite: At least one CMST course]
CMST 480 The Curatorial Project This is a practicum capstone course that explores the history, theory, politics, and practical knowledge of curating. In addition to critical readings, classroom discussion, writing, and exhibition design, the class organizes and realizes a student-curated art exhibition during the semester, including a full-scale gallery installation and the production of a catalog. There is also the opportunity to explore methods and technology of digital curation and virtual exhibition. Taken at the 300-level, this course fulfills the CMST capstone requirement. If taken at the 400-level, this course fulfills the ARTH capstone requirement. Students should be advised to take CMST 200, 214, or 218 to fulfil a capstone requirement. (Offered occasionally, fall semester; ARTH and CMST affiliated faculty) P3, P4
CMST 499 Provenzano Student Art Gallery Internship: Gallery Director The Provenzano Art Gallery Student Director intern is responsible for overseeing and managing all of the activities and events that occur in the Gallery. The student Director also acts as supervisor to the rest of the interns, ensuring that each understands their roles and responsibilities and provides the support and training necessary from them to succeed. The student Director schedules and leads all PSAG intern meetings throughout the semester; works in collaboration with all interns on the planning and execution of exhibitions, events, and general programming of the Gallery; ensures the maintenance of the space and reaches out to the appropriate campus resources when necessary; communicates regularly with the PSAG Faculty Supervisor. [Prerequisite: CMST 199]