Courses ofInstruction
Critical Museum Studies
Program Faculty
Angelique Szymanek, Art and Architecture
Affiliated Faculty
Jeffrey D. Anderson, Anthropology
Christopher Annear, Anthropology
Elizabeth Belanger, American Studies
Lara C. W. Blanchard, Art and Architecture
Brian Clark, Anthropology
Mark E. Deutschlander, Biology
Laura E. Free, History
Liliana Leopardi, Art and Architecture
John C. Marks, History
Leah Shafer, Media and Society
Craig Talmage, Entrepreneurial Studies
Michael C. Tinkler, Art and Architecture
In the Critical Museum Studies minor, our students approach museums, cultural institutions, and galleries with a critical eye and a practical knowledge of many aspects of public history and material culture. This minor helps prepare our students for a variety of careers in numerous types of cultural institutions—such as research, collections handling, installation, graphic design, museum education, heritage management, media production, administration, educational tourism and specialized writing. The minor is composed of three “tracks” focusing on art museums and galleries, public and cultural history, and museums in a non-traditional sense. The minor is composed of an introductory course (currently CMST 214 Introduction to Critical Museum Studies or ANTH 218 It Belongs in a Museum), three electives from the student’s track of choice, and either a practicum or a portfolio, in consultation with the student’s minor advisor.
Offerings
Critical Museum Studies Minor
interdisciplinary, 5 courses
Requirement:
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. Only the Capstone CMST 300 may be taken for a CR grade. No more than one course may be a transfer credit.
CMST Minor Courses
ANTH 205 Race, Class, & Ethnicity
ANTH 218 It Belongs in a Museum
ANTH 222 Native American Religions
ANTH 273 Research Methods
ANTH 280 Environment & Culture
ANTH 296 Africa: Beyond Crisis, Poverty & Aid
ANTH 330 The Anthropology of Creativity
ANTH 319 Feminist and Political Anthropology
AMST 202 Drawing for Study and Storytelling
AMST 221 Immigrant Arts: Intro. To Asian American Cultures
AMST 270 Storytelling with Data
AMST 330 Digital Humanities
AMST 333 Other American Studies
AMST 360 Debating Community: Controversies in the Public Humanities
AMST 371 Civil War in Popular Memory
ARTH 201 Black Arts
ARTH 205 Gender & Display
ARTH 208 Greek Art & Architecture
ARTH 210 Women Artists
ARTH 212 Arts of Modern China
ARTH 221 Renaissance Art
ARTH 305 Constructing Gender in the Renaissance
ARTH 204-99 Art Conservation and Museology (on-site in Rome)
ARTS/GSIJ 301 Feminist Oral History
BIDS 204 Art History and Chemistry in Museums
CMST 200 Indigenous Arts of the Americas in Museums
EDUC 201 Schooling and Social Equality
MGMT 220 Social Innovation
HIST 212 Historical Research Methods (History of HWS)
HIST 240 Immigration and Ethnicity in America
HIST 371 The Civil War in American Memory
MDSC 100 Intro to Media and Society
MDSC 200 Cultures of Advertising
MDSC 304 Media and Theory
MDSC 390 The Video Essay
SOC 238 Immigrant America
SOC 251 Sociology of the city
SOC 253 Global Cities
GSIJ 150 Chicana Feminism & Visual Culture
GSIJ 218 Queer Representations in Theatre & Film
GSIJ 220 The Body Politic
GSIJ 300 Feminist Theory
GSIJ 308 Chicana & Latina Art
CMST Minor Tracks
Track 1: Art Museums and Galleries:
AMST 330 Digital Humanities
ARTH 201 Black Arts
ARTH 208 Greek Art & Architecture
ARTH 210 Women Artists
ARTH 212 Arts of Modern China
ARTH 305 Constructing Gender in the Renaissance
ARTH 205 Gender & Display
ARTH 202 Art Internship: Catalog
ARTH 203 Art Internship: Exhibition
ARTH 204 Arts Internships: Acquisition
ARTH 204-99 Art Conservation and Museology (on-site in Rome)
BIDS 204 Art History and Chemistry in Museums
CHEM 308 Chemistry of Art
CMST 200 Indigenous Arts of the Americas in Museums
MDSC 390 The Video Essay
MGMT 220 Social Innovation for the Entrepreneur
GSIJ 150 Chicana Feminism & Visual Culture
GSIJ 308 Chicana & Latina Art
WRRH 333 Digital Rhetorical Writing with New Technologies
Track 2: History and Cultural Museums:
AMST 333 Other American Studies
AMST 360 Debating Community: Controversies in the Public Humanities
AMST 330 Digital Humanities
ANTH 102 Intro to Archeology and World Prehistory
ANTH 205 Race, Class, & Ethnicity
ANTH 210 Precolonial Africa
ANTH 218 It Belongs in a Museum
ANTH 222 Native American Religions
ANTH 282 North American Indians
ANTH 273 Research Methods
ANTH 280 Environment & Culture
ANTH 310 Experimental Archeology and Paleotechnology
ANTH 319 Feminist and Political Anthropology
ANTH 326 Pre Columbian Mesoamerica
CMST 200 Indigenous Arts of the Americas in Museums
EDU 348 Our National Parks
HIST 348 Public History
HIST 371 The Civil War in American Memory
HIST212 Historical Research Methods (History of HWS)
ARTS/GSIJ 301 Feminist Oral History
Track 3: Beyond Museums:
AFS 311 Social Media Empires and eColonism
AFS 315 #Blacklivesmatter
AMST 333 Other American Studies
AMST 330 Digital Humanities
DAN 214 Movement Studies
DAN 230 Community Arts
EDU 335 Arts & Education
MDSC 200 Cultures of Advertising
MDSC 304 Media and Theory
MDSC 390 The Video Essay
MGMT 220 Social Innovation
THTR 362 Designing for Theatre and Stage
GSIJ 213 Transnational Feminism
WRRH Digital Rhetorical Writing with New Technologies
Course Descriptions
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. (offered occasionally, Szymanek)
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.
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)
CMST 300 Capstone Experience The CMST 300 capstone experience is determined collaboratively by the student and their CMST advisor and can take one of two forms: an internship practicum placement or a portfolio project. For the practicum option, the student is paired with an institutional partner whose mission and function aligns with the student's own interests and goals. In consultation with their advisor, CMST students will work with a supervisor on site who will be in communication with their advisor regarding expectations and performance. The practicum will culminate in a formative evaluation provided by the on-site supervisor as well as written summative reflection paper to be submitted by the student's advisor. The second CMST 300 option is the creation of a portfolio the contents of which should correspond to the nature of the student's coursework, and therefore, the artifacts therein will reflect work on a project that is relevant to the type of cultural institution within which they would like to work. This can include a digital exhibition, a collection assessment, public programming proposal, or a research paper, among other possibilities.