Course Description
Special topics in museum studies and the history of collections. Focusing on special topics in museum studies, this course counts as an elective for the museum studies certificate. This class may be taught on campus or as part of a field study or study abroad program.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Expectations for graduate students will vary by topic but will include additional readings and review essays, an extended research paper or digital project, and additional course assignments appropriate to advanced, graduate-level research.
Athena Title
Topics in Museum Studies
Undergraduate Pre or Corequisite
Any 2000-level HIST course
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
- By the end of this course, students will be able to arrive at conclusions about selected topics in Museum Studies by gathering and weighing evidence, logical argument, and listening to counter argument.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to write stylistically appropriate papers and essays. Students will be able to analyze ideas and evidence, organize their thoughts, and revise and edit their finished essays.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to identify how special topics in Museum Studies have shaped diverse social and cultural attitudes toward race, gender, and national identity in education and curation, encouraging them to understand diverse worldviews and experiences.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to apply appropriate methodological approaches to their analysis of primary sources and to organize their evidence to show historical continuities and discontinuities.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to generate their own research question or topic, locate suitable primary and secondary sources, and synthesize their ideas in novel ways.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to initiate, manage, complete, and evaluate their independent research projects in stages and to give and receive constructive feedback through the peer review process.
Topical Outline
- This course is designed to offer Museum Studies Certificate students an opportunity to study special topics in museum studies that are not regularly offered. The course would count as an elective for the Museum Studies Certificate but would be open to all students. The course may also be taught off-campus with a focus on collections. For example, it may be taught as a field study at museums in Atlanta or as a study abroad course at Oxford. Course topics will vary but could include: examinations of an area of specialization in museum studies, such as museum education or curating; study of off-campus collections and museum practices in a specific location (such as Atlanta, Oxford, or New York); the preparation of a museum project (such as an exhibition or education program); the examination of museum practices, such as deaccessioning policies and museum ethics or efforts to decolonize museum spaces.
- Example of Atlanta syllabus: This course will introduce students to museum methods and practices using Atlanta’s museums as our classroom. Students will attend a three-day workshop on campus before spending a week in Atlanta visiting museums and historic sites. Site visits will be a combination of lecture and on-site study. Site visits will also include meetings with staff to discuss their work.
Objectives: Students will learn methods used by museum professionals to tell stories with objects. Students will learn how to apply material culture methodologies to the study of objects. Students will learn about museum careers through interactions with professionals in the field.
Requirements: Students must participate in both the pre-trip workshop and the Atlanta field study in order to receive credit. Students should expect to spend roughly 40 hours at museum sites in Atlanta. These will be long days, with morning and afternoon sessions. Students must provide their own housing and transportation to and from the sites in Atlanta. All readings for the course will be available via ELC.
- Class Schedule: On-campus introduction to Museum Studies Methods and Practices - Introduction Overview of the Program Introduction to Museums Stephen E. Weil, “The Museum and the Public” from Making Museums Matter Stephen E. Weil, “From Being About Something to Being for Somebody: The Ongoing Transformation of the American Museum” Daedalus - Types of Museums and What People Do in Them Patrick H. Butler III, “Past, Present, and Future: The Place of the House Museum in the Museum Community,” from Interpreting Historic House Museums Andrea Burns, Chapter 1 From Storefront to Monument: Tracing the Public History of the Black Museum Movement - Working with Objects: What to Look For Jules David Prown, “Mind in Matter,” Winterthur Portfolio; Twenty Questions to Ask an Object; Blog Post, “Ten Things To Know About Museum Installation;” Beverley Serrell, “Behind it All: The Big Idea,” in Exhibit Labels; A Sample Museum Exhibition Review: https://editions.lib.umn.edu/panorama/article/edward-hopper-hotel/
- Atlanta Museum and Historic Sites: Martin Luther King, Jr National Historic Park Inwood, Contested Memory in the Birthplace of a king: Auburn Avenue and the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Park; Daynes, “Fighting for an Authentic Past: The Commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr. in Atlanta,” “Martin Luther King, Jr. New Georgia Encyclopedia, https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/martin-luther-king-jr-1929-1968 - High Museum of Art High Museum: Merrill, “A History of the High Museum of Art,” Brenneman, “A History of the Collections;” Slow Looking Exercise in the galleries - Wren’s Nest/Rhodes Hall Garrett, “A Short Account of the Atlanta Historical Society” Rhodes Hall: https://www.rhodeshall.org/history-tours/ - Atlanta History Center Page, 1997 review “Atlanta History Center,” Judt, “Cyclorama: An Atlanta Monument,” Jones, “Introduction: Confederate Odyssey,” “Atlanta History Center,” New Georgia Encyclopedia, https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/atlanta-history-center - Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum/ Georgia State Capitol Museum Cochrane, “Presidential Libraries: Presidential, Yes: Libraries, Not Really,” Hufbauer, “Spotlights and Shadows: Presidents and Their Administrations in Presidential Museums,” Potter, “Education Programs in the Presidential Libraries: A Report from the Field” “Jimmy Carter,” New Georgia Encyclopedia, https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/government-politics/jimmy-carter-b-1924
