REQUIRED COURSES

Students in a Master of Arts and Advanced Certificate Program in Museum Studies must take all five courses listed below to satisfy the degree requirements. Students in Joint Degree Programs who are enrolled for Concentration in Museum Studies must take two out of five lecture and seminar courses, excluding Independent Study courses.

*Please note that due to limited space, Museum Studies courses are open to Museum Studies students first. We can only accommodate non-Museum Studies students if space is available.

History and Theory of Museums (MSMS-GA 1500)  Marisa Franz, Elaine Ayers. 4 points.

Introduction to the social, cultural, and political history of museums. This course focuses on the formation of the modern museum with an emphasis on the US context. Museums of Natural History, Anthropology, Science, Technology, History, and Art will be addressed from a variety of disciplinary approaches that explore the institution and its practices with respect to governance, colonialism, nationalism, class, gender, ethnicity, and community. Weekly visits to New York museums are required, along with frequent reading response papers, an exhibition review, and a final paper.

Museum Collections and Exhibitions (MSMS-GA 1501)  Ramona Bannayan, Clare Bell. 4 points.

As an introduction to the policies and procedures of collection and exhibition management, this seminar will consider issues involved in day-to-day museum operations and the urgent challenges facing museums today.  We will examine how museums approach ideas around cultural mission, ethics and interpretation while trying to balance logistical practicalities and financial strategies. This seminar combines lectures, classroom discussion and guest speakers active in the international museum world to provide an understanding of the many core functions of museum practice from museum structures, mission statements, collection policies, documentation, assessment, conservation, storage, exhibition management, working with living artists, community, timelines and budgeting. Students perform classroom team table-top exercises, condition assessments, and conduct research leading to three writing assignments and two presentations.  

Museum Management (MSMS-GA 1502)  Helen Warwick. 4 points.      

This course provides an overview of management, finance, and administration for those aspiring to managerial and supervisory positions in museums. Topics to be covered include mission; leadership and strategic planning; governance and institutional policy; organizational structure and the roles and relationships of museum departments; operational issues, including security and disaster planning; museum finance, including operating and capital expense budgeting; fundraising; and marketing and branding. Case studies taken from New York City museums will be analyzed, and all topics will be placed in the context of how museum staff best deliver programs, and serve their public communities most effectively.

Internship (MSMS-GA 3990)  Rosanna Flouty. 2  points.

M.A. and Advanced Certificate students spend a minimum of 200 hours over one or more semesters in a project-oriented internship at a museum or other suitable institution. Students nearing completion of course prerequisites (MSMS-GA 1500, MSMS-GA 1501, and MSMS-GA 1502) must schedule a planning meeting with the Program's Internship Coordinator. A daily log, evaluations, and progress report are required. Students must earn a grade of B or better to receive the M.A. or Advanced Certificate.  Further information is available in the Internship Guidelines Packet.

Research Seminar (MSMS-GA 3991) Miriam Basilio, Marisa Franz, Elaine Ayers. 2 points.

This course includes candidates for both the Advanced Certificate and the M.A. in Museum Studies.  The class is designed to help students identify a research question, navigate relevant primary and secondary sources, and produce a well-written, well-organized research paper at the end of the term.  For those in the Advanced Certificate program, the course will focus on a final 30-page (double-spaced) Museum Studies research paper.  M.A. students will focus on writing an introduction and one chapter of a master’s thesis. The research seminar provides students with a collective structure and series of deadlines as they develop individual research projects.  Students will be responsible for their own research and writing, as well as thoughtful reading and comments in writing groups.

For M.A. Students:

We will assign writing groups in the Research Seminar, and we strongly encourage you to maintain these groups or form new groups as you write your thesis during the spring semester.

Students will be assigned individual thesis advisors in October.  You will meet with your advisor before the end of the fall semester to establish a working plan for the winter break and spring semester.  You are responsible for sending your Abstract, Annotated Bibliography, and Outline to your advisor before this meeting.  You will also send the Introduction and Thesis Chapter to your advisor after completion in December.

ELECTIVES

In addition to the five required courses listed above, students in the Master of Arts Program take four electives, two of which can be taken outside of Museum Studies Program, in the area of special interest. Students in the Advanced Certificate Program and those pursuing Concentrations in Museum Studies take two electives.

Development, Fund-raising, and Grantsmanship: Funding the 21^st Century Museum (MSMS-GA 2221)  Helen Warwick. 4 points.

In the 21st century museums worldwide need creative fundraising to survive. This course provides a comprehensive overview of museum fundraising practices and an introduction to the skills and processes necessary for effective fundraising. Focusing in particular on the funding environment in the USA – but referencing other international models – topics covered include an overview of sources of funding and types of fundraising (capital campaign; planned giving, benefit events etc.) and a survey of procedures for identifying available funds. Invited guests from a range of museum environments will discuss examples of successful fundraising. Students will complete various examples of fundraising approach (individual solicitations and grant requests, for example) and a comprehensive fundraising strategy for a museum project of their choice.

Museum Education (MSMS-GA 2224) Sharon Vatsky. 4 points.

This seminar provides an overview of the field of Museum Education. Museum Education is considered in the context of the institution’s relationship to its multiple constituent communities, with application to a broad range of audiences. Among the topics to be considered are learning strategies, teaching from objects, program planning and assessment, and exhibition interpretation.

Conservation and Collections Management (MSMS-GA 2222) Ramona Bannayan.  4  points.          

This seminar combines classroom discussion with museum visits to provide an understanding of preventive care, collections conservation, and collections management.  It covers the historical and philosophical drive to preserve cultural objects for the future, and value conflicts that arise between professionals and non-professionals with stakes in how material culture is exhibited. The seminar addresses concerns of living artists as well as indigenous groups and others with claims to the disposition and care of cultural materials. It also covers collections management policies and procedures, including environmental management, disaster management, and collections documentation. Students perform condition assessments and conduct research leading to short writing assignments and a term paper.

Historic Sites, Cultural Landscapes and the Politics of Preservation (MSMS-GA 2223)  TBA. 4 points.

This course will examine the cultural politics that influence reuse of historic spaces for museums and other public purposes. Through course readings, site visits and individual archival research, students will explore sites ranging from historic houses and period rooms presented as museum installations to restored villages and communities to dramatic reuse of historic space for cultural tourism. Students will pay particular attention to the social and political contexts in which original use and subsequent reuse took place, and analyze primary documents that illustrate both motivations and strategies for interpretation.

Museums and Interactive Technologies (MSMS-GA 2225)  Rosanna Flouty.  4 points.

The course will present a survey and analysis of museum use of interactive technologies. Among the topics to be discussed in detail are strategies and tools for collections management, exhibitions, educational resources and programs, website design, digitization projects, and legal issues arising from the use of these technologies. Each student will develop an interactive project in an area of special interest.

Exhibition Planning and Design (MSMS-GA 3332)   Ileen Gallagher. 4 points.

This course focuses on the planning, development and design of exhibitions, permanent, temporary and traveling. It is a participatory class where students learn basic exhibition design techniques, including spatial layouts and the use of graphics, audio-visual aids, lighting, colors, materials, and fabrication methods. Students gain insight into exhibition planning and development and the roles played by various museum professionals. There are visits to designers to discuss their work and to museums and other venues to analyze exhibition design techniques. Individual student projects provide hands-on experience.

Museums and Contemporary Art  (MSMS-GA 3335)  Bruce Altshuler. 4 points.

This course investigates historical, theoretical, and practical aspects of the collecting and exhibiting of contemporary art in museums.  Topics include curatorial strategies for exhibition and collection development, biennialism, the art market, conservation issues, artworks that take the museum as subject, public and relational art, and conflicts of interest that arise for museum staff and trustees. A familiarity with international contemporary art is required. Assignments include two short essays, class presentations, and a final paper.  

TOPICS IN MUSEUM STUDIES (MSMS-GA  3330). 4 points.

Current issues in the museum profession and the interdisciplinary study of museums. Practica, with "hands-on" components, are also offered periodically under this course number. Some examples are listed below. (Refer to the current course schedule for particular topics offered in each academic year.)

Topics in Museum Studies: Museums and the Law (MSMS-GA  3330-001) Hima Gleason. 4 points.
Legal issues pervade so many aspects of the world of museums. The law can both constrain and enable the behavior of museum staff, administration, and others who work with these cultural organizations. Therefore, it is difficult to work in, for and with museums without some training in or familiarity with the law. In this course, we will examine how museums are affected by a variety of legal regulations, including cultural heritage legislation, intellectual property issues, such as copyright, trademark and moral rights, first amendment and censorship claims, work-place hazards, contracts, and nonprofit and tax laws, such as valuation, charitable transfers, payments in lieu of taxes and the unrelated business income tax. Readings will consist of case law and secondary sources detailing the most pressing legal issues facing different types of museums, and group discussions will be supplemented by mock case studies and negotiation exercises.

Topics in Museum Studies: Art Exhibition History After 1960s (MSMS-GA 3330-002) Bruce Altshuler. 4 points.

This seminar will investigate the history of exhibitions and various approaches to the study of exhibition history. The focus will be on art exhibitions after 1960, with an emphasis on group exhibitions. Among the topics to be discussed are the significance of exhibitions within art and cultural history, the notion of an exhibitionary canon, the relationship between artworks and exhibition practice, and the major developments of this period. These developments include the growth of independent curating and new curatorial strategies, an increasing focus on thematic exhibitions, the expansion of biennials outside the Euro-American centers, and the use of discursive forms. Students will present the results of research on a particular exhibition or series of exhibitions, and submit a final paper on that topic. The permission of the instructor is required before registering for this course.

Topics in Museum Studies: Research and Evaluation in Museums(MSMS-GA  3330-002)  Sheri Levinsky-Raskin. 4 points.

This course integrates the history of visitor studies in museums with current theories and practices in visitor research and user experience. By reviewing and discussing contemporary and fundamental literature, engaging in dialogue with professionals, and conducting a museum-based research and evaluation study, students will become familiar with the need for and use of research and evaluation across an organization. Research and evaluation, whether led internally by museum professionals or through contracted researchers, are essential for organizations of all types and provide systematic methods for collecting data that support data-driven decision making and institutional / public accountability. Topics covered in this course focus on the spectrum of museum work from exhibition development, programming, marketing, and development, and addresses ethics, methodology, implementation, comparative data analysis, and data visualization. Course projects include preparing and implementing a real-world research and evaluation study at a local institution, integrating data into grant narratives, and preparing and presenting a study findings report.

Topics in Museum Studies: The Museum Life of Contemporary Art (MSMS-GA  3330-003)  TBA. 4 points.

The topic of this seminar is the life of contemporary artworks within museums. Sessions are organized around the trajectory of complex artworks from acquisition, to documentation, storage, exhibition, and conservation intervention. Installation, media, and performance works serve as case studies to analyze social, legal, and material dynamics as they move through this life cycle. Examination of these stages engages various contemporary debates around artist rights, artist intentions, authorship, and authenticity. Students learn about museum processes as they assess practical challenges and theoretical questions posed by contemporary art in the museum. Students engage in project-based research to conduct artist interviews and/or investigate curatorial and conservation problems in artist archives. One group will research questions about the work of David Wojnarowicz, who was active in downtown New York during the 1970s and 1980s. His archive in the Fales Library & Special Collections will serve as a resource for the research. Other groups will conduct interviews with artists and museum staff concerning problematic artworks in local museums.

Topics in Museum Studies: Museums and Political Conflict (MSMS-GA  3330-004)  Jeffrey Feldman. 4 points.

In contemporary Museum Studies, it is often said that museums are inherently political institutions. But how do politics actually happen in museums? What has "politics" meant for key exhibitions and collections and what avenues of political theory emerge from the museum in general? In this seminar, we will move beyond the general to examine how specific political concepts took shape in historic exhibitions and museum practices from the 1930s to the present. As such, our challenge will be twofold. On the one hand, we will consider how political movements have used the museums as an implement for advancing power and influence. On the other hand, we will consider how museum practices have "taken up" various kinds of politics: how museum objects and officials have engaged and advocated the agendas and outcomes of political parties, governments, policies, revolutions, and elections. Case studies will include: Degenerate Art (1937), Paris World Exhibition (1937), Rivera's "Man at the Crossroads" (1934), The Guggenheim Museum (1959), Yad Vashem (1965), Harlem on my Mind (1969), The Perfect Moment (1990), The Last Act (1994), The Jewish Museum of Bologna (1998), Sensation (1999), The Apartheid Museum (2001), Holocaust Cartoons (2006), among others. Through these case studies, students will examine the museum's role in the public sphere and the process whereby exhibitions contribute to-- or undermined--key aspects of deliberative democracy.

Topics in Museum Studies: Museums and Community (MSMS-GA 3330-005) Rosanna Flouty. 4 points.                                 

There has been a turn towards community engagement in recent museum practice. Museum programming today often includes community outreach, civic activism, and community participation in its core activities. This trend manifests in all aspects of museum activity, including exhibition, education, research, and collections care. This course investigates the theoretical underpinnings of community engagement, along with its practical outcomes. It builds an understanding of community programming in the context of critical museum theory. Student projects include a critique of a community-based museum program and a research paper on community engagement in museum practice.

Topics in Museum Studies: Anthropology of Museums (MSMS-GA  3330-006)  Jane Anderson. 4 points.

This course considers "the museum" as an object of ethnographic inquiry, examining it as a social institution embedded in a broader field of cultural heritage that is perpetually under negotiation. We reflect on how museum principles of classification, practices of collection and exhibition, uptake of media, technology, and archiving have influenced the ways in which knowledge has been formed, presented, and represented; and interrogate the role of  museums as significant social actors in broad anthropological debates on power, materiality, value, representation, culture, nationalism, circulation, aesthetics, science, history, and "new" technologies. The museum is never simply a repository of arts, cultures, histories, or scientific knowledges, but also a site of tremendous creativity and a field of complex social relations.

Topics in Museum Studies: Blockbusters and Building Booms (MSMS-GA  3330-007)  Miriam Basilio. 4 points.

Recent exhibitions including Tutankhamun and the Age of the Pharaohs at LACMA have revived ongoing discussions about the motivations that lead museums to program blockbusters and their effects  on museum practices. Although financial pressures are often cited as a cause for such large, well-attended exhibitions, scholarly motivations should not be disregarded. Many museums in the US have recently undertaken building projects, which may be examined as part of broader initiatives - such as re-branding and audience development - that have also been linked to the blockbuster phenomenon. Historical and contemporary cases of the blockbuster, and recent instances of museum building projects will be examined in the course, in light of these museums' missions.

Topics in Museum Studies: Heritage, Memory and Negotiating Temporalities  (MSMS-GA 3330-008) Jane Anderson. 4 points.

What is heritage, how is it produced and to what extent does it (re)arrange relationships between time, memory and identity? How do some heritages come to be memorialized and institutionalized and others excluded and rendered peripheral? This seminar will cover the historical development of the concept of heritage as well as exploring the genesis of international heritage administration, charters, conventions, and national heritage laws. It will highlight emerging trends and practices including exploring the concept of “social memory” and contrast it with the more formalized techniques of heritage didactics and curation.  We will explore the increasing interest in “bottom-up” heritage programming that directly involves the general public in the formulation, collection, and public presentation of historical themes and subjects as an ongoing social activity.  Case studies from different regions and social contexts will be explored:  “conflicted heritage,” “minority heritage,” “indigenous heritage,” “diasporic heritage,” “sites of conscience,” long-term community planning and involvement in “eco-museums”, the relationship between heritage, development and tourism and public heritage interpretation centers. Students will be asked to address specific problems in sites or organizations presented during the course and will formulate socio-interpretive assessments of projects or research of their choosing in the U.S. or abroad.

Topics in Museum Studies: Collections and Exhibitions of Latin American Art, 1900-Present (MSMS-GA  3330-009)  Miriam Basilio. 4 points.

The history of collecting and exhibiting Latin American art is still at a beginning stage. This seminar will examine significant public, private and corporate collections as well as major exhibitions in both the U.S. and Europe as a way to gauge the shifts of taste, market value, public awareness and the role of Latin American art within the ever-expanding and  reconfiguring canon. Questions of reception of Latin American art outside of the region itself will be a principal subject throughout the course. Readings will include theoretical studies on collecting and curating, histories of individual movements within the development of criticism and analysis of Latin American art from c.1950 onward, and essays on its collecting and display. For their research projects students will choose a major collection or exhibition from the past or present and examine its historical and critical significance. Students must have the permission of the professors before registering for this course.