SYLLABUS MUSEUM FUNDAMENTALS ANTH 4365 - FALL 2012 BASIC INFORMATION: Meeting Day/Time: Monday and Wednesday, 3:00-4:20pm Location: 211 Old Main, UTEP Campus Credits: 3 Instructor: Kerry Doyle Office: 208 Seamon Hall/Rubin Center Office Phone: 915-747-6164 or my admin assistant Victoria Aviles x 6138 Office Hours: by appointment Please note: The very best way to get a timely response from me is to send an email to kadoyle@utep.edu. To be sure it rises to the top of my in box put ANTH 4365 or Museum Fundamentals or Museum Class in the subject line. COURSE CATALOG AND DESCRIPTION: An introduction to the practical aspects of museum work, including organization and display of exhibits, care of collections, communication with visitors, and other museum tasks. Lectures will be combined with discussion and opportunities for analyzing concrete problems. COURSE OVERVIEW: This course provides an introduction both to the history of museums and contemporary practices in the museum. As such, the course has two simultaneous goals: 1) to introduce students to a critical history of museums as social institutions that challenges museum professionals to find new and innovative ways of doing their jobs; and, 2) to provide an overview of the emerging nature of museum work from administration, to collections management and public programming, given the changes that museums and museum professional practices are currently undergoing. Class time is organized around lectures and discussion focused on assigned readings, and will also include both presentations from museum professionals and visits to both the Rubin Center for the Visual Arts and the Centennial Museum, both on UTEPʼs campus. INSTRUCTOR BIO: Kerry Doyle is the Interim Director of the Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Arts. She is a curator who specializes in creating exhibition hybrids that mix installation, performance and public involvement, engaging diverse sectors of the border community with visiting artists from around the world. She was a 2009 Fellow at the Smithsonian Institute for Latino Museum Studies, is a member of the curatorial advisory committee for the Museo de Arte del Instituto Nacional Bellas Artes, Ciudad Juárez, and is a founding member of the Conectarte research and organizing team, sponsoring annual encounters for artist collectives in Ciudad Juárez. She holds a B.A. in Political Science from De Paul University in Chicago, and a B.A. in Drawing and Printmaking and M.A. in Latin American and Border Studies from the University of Texas at El Paso.
COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES: Upon completion of this course students will 1) Know the basic contours of the critical history of museums in the United States; 2) Be familiar with different kinds of museums that exist as well as their basic structural divisions and functions; 3) Know about a variety of museum positions and career opportunities and understand the professional skills and knowledge required for these positions; 4) have been introduced to the critical museum studies literature and understand the ways museum professional best practices are currently changing. REQUIRED TEXTS: Janet Marstine, 2005. New Museum Theory and Practice. (ISBN-10: 1405105593) Bettina Messias, 2012. Museum Studies: An Anthology of Contexts 2 nd ed. (ISBN-10: 1405173815) Gail Anderson, 2004. Reinventing the Museum: Historical and Contemporary Practice (ISBN-10: 0759101701) Simon, Nina, 2010. The Participatory Museum. http://www.participatorymuseum.org/read/ This book is available for free online via the above url. COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Class Attendance - This course emphasizes class participation, and attendance is required. A significant part of the final grade is bases on student participation in class discussion it is good for you and your final grade to come to class regularly and to actively participate. As in all university situations, students should observe the university code of conduct during discussions by being respectful of other students, their opinions, and by contributing to an atmosphere of collegial and collaborative learning in the classroom. Participation twice during the semester you will be asked to contribute information about a museum that illustrates one of the core concepts of the themes you are assigned. This can be done via a link to a museumʼs website, a scholarly or professional article about the museum, or via a one page reflection about your own experience in a museum. These will be shared with the class via blackboard. Links are due by 5pm the day before the class during which they are discussed. Required Reading and Core Concept Quizzes All course readings are required and should be completed before the day to which they are assigned. You will be expected to be able to discuss the main points of the reading or raise relevant questions about the readings in class. In this class we will practice reading for core concepts - those elements of the reading that are key to our understanding of the history and functioning of museums. We will have ten random core concept quizzes throughout the semester, they will occur unannounced at the beginning of class. I will either ask you to use your own words to define a term, ask a question or answer a question based on an important topic in your assigned reading. Makeups will only be allowed in the case of pre-excused absences or with a doctorʼs note or other relevant documentation for your absence. (cont)
Exploratory Essays: You will have four exploratory essays throughout the semester, in which I will ask you to write 3-5 pages based on the topics we are studying and discussing in class. You will be graded on 1) your ability to articulate the main points of the topic in your own words; and 2) your ability to find people, institutions or practices that illustrate or challenge that topic in the assigned readings, in your own independent research, or drawn from your real-life experience. Final Paper: You will have the opportunity to choose your final paper from a list of topics provided by the instructor, or to propose a topic based on a core issue in museums today. Your final paper will be 7-10 pages and will outline a core topic in contemporary museums that was covered during the course. You will be asked to present the topic in your own words, using at least three sources drawn from the class readings and two sources from your own research. You will tell us why the topic is important, outline at least two competing positions on the issue, and illustrate how museums are addressing the issue in their contemporary practice, using at least one example of a real-life museum that you have read about, seen on-line, or experienced first hand. You will receive additional guidelines about this final paper no later than one month before it is due, and will have ample opportunity to ask questions and receive guidance from the instructor at that time. GRADES: Attendance 15* Participation 15 Core Concept Quizzes 10 quizzes/5 points each 50 Exploratory Essays 4 essays/20 points each 80 Final Paper 40 points 40 TOTAL POINTS 200 180-200 = A 160-179 = B 140-159 = C 120-139 = D 119 and below = F EXTRA CREDIT: During the course of the semester you will have the opportunity to attend a variety of lectures, exhibitions and events and write a one page summary of your participation for 5 extra credit points. I will receive up to but no more than three extra-credit assignments per student. *You have 3 absences per semester. Any absence after that will lose 5 points.
COURSE POLICIES: Formatting instructions for all papers: All papers, including extra credit assignments should be formatted as follows: Your name, the course number and the date should appear in the top right of each page Pages should be numbered 12 pt font Double-spaced 1 margins (note that this is NOT the default margin for left and right margins on Word) Separate page for bibliography Because this is an interdisciplinary course, you can use APA, MLA or Chicago styles for your bibliography. But you must be consistent with whatever style you chose. I encourage you to use a style appropriate to your major, and to consult an online style guide with questions. Cheating and Plagiarism: Cheating is unethical and unacceptable. Work done for this course should be done by you and by you alone. Plagiarism, which is the use of information or original wording in a paper without giving credit to the source of that information or wording, is not acceptable. Students should not submit work that 1) was not completed by the student him/herself or 2) that was created for another class. Cheating and plagiarizing, you will be subject to disciplinary action, per UTEP policy. Refer to: http://www.utep.edu/dos/acadintg.htm for further information. Any instances of cheating or plagiarism will be reported to the Dean of Students who will initiate disciplinary proceedings. Late work: Late work will be accepted without penalty only in the case of a pre-excused or appropriately documented absence (ie, doctorʼs note, accident report, etc). All other late assignments will lose 25% if turned in by the 1 st class period after the assignment is due, 50% if turned in by the second class period after the assignment is due, and 25% from that point on until the end of the semester. Due Date =100% 2nd Class =75% of total possible 3rd Class =50% of total possible From that point until end of the semester = 25% of total possible STUDENT RESOURCES: Students Requiring Accommodations: The Student Accommodation Office (Union East, room 106, phone 915-747-5148) provides a program of support and advocacy services to students with a variety of special needs. If you need additional support because of a permanent or temporary disability, you sound contact both disabled student services and make an appointment with the instructor within the first two weeks of class.
University Writing Center: Your grades in this class are heavily dependent on written assignments. It is important that your papers are well organized and well written, and that they contain the appropriate citations and documentation. The University Writing Center (UWC) is an excellent resource for improving the effectiveness of your writing and the quality of your writing assignments. I highly encourage its use during the semester. The UWC provides individualized online and face-toface writing assistance to all UTEP students, from freshman to graduate and among other things can help you: decide on the appropriate format for your writing brainstorm ideas and organize your thoughts find the right words to express yourself decide on the best way to revise your drafts learn how to correct grammatical errors document your sources Their services are free for all UTEP students. They are located in the Library, room 227. You can call them at (915) 747-5112 or go to their website (http://academics.utep.edu/default.aspx?tabid=47508) which has their hours and satellite locations, along with a wide variety of writing resources of all kinds. (course calendar below)
COURSE CALENDAR Essay topics and due dates are included in yellow below Classes in which Core Concept Quizzes will be given are in Blue Days in which I will assign and explain essays in class are in Purple, the assignments will also be posted on blackboard on the same day. Introduction to Course and to Classmates Monday, August 27 th Introductions/Syllabus/Expectations/Questions Wednesday, August 29 th Mapping our experience and Understanding of Museums For our class period today, I would like you to bring 8 index cards with the following information: 1) List all of the museums you have visited 2) List all of the museums in El Paso/Juarez/Las Cruces 3) Write one word to describe your best museum experience 4) Write one word to describe your worst museum experience 5) Write one word to describe people who work in museums 6) Write one word to describe people who visit museums 7) Finish the phrase Museums are important because 8) Finish the phrase One question I have about museums is Monday, September 3 rd - LABOR DAY NO CLASS History of Museums Wednesday, September 5th Pivotal Moments in the 20 th Century Dialogue*1 Assign Essay 1 Due Monday September 17th Anderson pages 0-60: A Framework: Reinventing the Museum (2012), Gail Anderson, pg 1 The Gloom of the Museum (1917), John Cotton Dana, pg 17 What is a Museum? (1942) Theodore Lowe, pg 34 The Museum, a Temple or the Forum (1971), pg 48 Monday, September 10 th A Historical Overview - pages 15-61 Introduction, pg 15 From the Museum Age: Forward (1967) Germain Bazin, pg 19 The Museum: Itʼs Classical Etymology and Renaissance Geneology (1989) Paula Findlen, pg 23 The Universal Survey Museum (1980), Carol Duncan and Alan Wallach
Magnificent Intentions: Anthropology, Ethnology Wednesday, September 12 th- - : Ethnology, Ethnography, Anthropology *2 Chapter 12: Museums of Ethnology and Their Classification, pg 126 Chapter 13: Magnificent Intentions : Washington, D.C. and American Anthropology in 1846, Curtis M. Hinsley, Jr, pg 129 Chapter 15: The Development of Ethnological Museums, Robert Goldwater, pg 158 Monday, September 17 th : Contemporary Case Studies ESSAY #1 DUE: FROM IVORY TOWER TO PUBLIC SQUARE Peabody Museum at Harvard http://www.peabody.harvard.edu/ Anthropology Museum of the People of New York http://www.anthropologymuseum.org/index.html Hearst Museum at Berkeley http://hearstmuseum.berkeley.edu/about GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE: Vietnam Museum of Ethnology Nations and Museum Wednesday, September 19 th\ - Chapter 28: Museums and the Formation of National and Cultural Identities, Anne E. Coombes, pg 260 Chapter 29: Museums, National, Post-national and Transcultural Identities, Sharon J. MacDonald, 273 Chapter 31: Some Thoughts about National Museums at the End of the Century, Roger G. Kennedy, 294 Monday, September 24 th Civic Engagement *3 Assign Essay # 2: Due Wednesday, October 3rd Chapter : Museums, Civic Life, and the Educative Force of Rememberance, Roger I. Simon, pg 92 Anderson Chapter 15: From Being About Something to being For Somebody: The Ongoing Transformation of the American Museum, Stephen Weil, page 170 Chapter 22: Embedding Civic Engagement in Museums, Graham Black, pg 267 Wednesday, September 26 th Contemporary Case Studies Field Day El Paso Museum of History
History and Identity Introduction, pg 299 Chapter 32: Memory, Distortion and History in the Museum, Susan A. Crane, pg 303 Chapter 33: Museum Matters, Gyan Prakash, page 317 Monday, October 1 st *4 Marstine Chapter 4: How We Study History Musems: Or Cultural Studies at Monticello, Eric Gable, pg 109 Chapter 34: Reality as Illusion, the Historic Houses that Become Museums, Mónica Risnicoff de Gorgas, pg 324 Wednesday, October 3 rd Contemporary Case Studies (To be posted on Blackboard) Deconstruction and Multiculturalism Monday, October 8 th ESSAY #2 DUE: STORIES OF POWER MUSEUMS AND NATION Anderson Chapter 7: Museums in the Age of Deconstruction, Michael Ames, pg 86 Chapter 8: The Real Multiculturalism, A Struggle for Authority and Power, Amalia Mesa-Bains, pg 104 Chapter 9: Mining the Museum, An Installation Confronting History, Lisa Corrin, pge 114 Wednesday, October 10 th *5 Marstine Chapter 2: Feminist Curatorial Strategies and Practices Since the 1970s, Katy Deepwell, page 65 Chapter 45: Picturing Feminism, Selling Liberalism: The Case of the Disappearing Holbein, Jordanna Bailkin, page 453 Chapter 49: Women at the Whitney, 1910-1930: Feminism/Sociogy/Aesthetics, Janet Wolffe, page 478 Monday, October 15 th Chapter 36: The Afterlife of Lynching: Exhibitions and the Re-Composition of Human Suffering, Betina Messias, pg 347 Chapter 37: Exhibiting Meztizaje: The Poetics and Experience of the Mexican Fine Arts Museum, Karen Mary Davalos, pg 373 Chapter 39: Musuems and the Native Voice, Gerald McMaster, 377
Wednesday, October 17 th Contemporary Case Studies- to be posted on Blackboard Assign Essay # 3- Due Wednesday, October 24th Art and Artifacts Monday, October 22 nd Chapter 42- Aims and Principles of the Construction and Management of Museums of Fine Art, Benjamin Ives Gilman, pg 413 Chaper 43- he Museum as an Art Patron, John Cotton Dana, pg 421 Chapter 46 Conclusion to the Love of Art, Bordieu, Darbel, Schnapper, pg 453 Wednesday, October 24 th - *6 Chapter 47: Art and the Futureʼs Past Marstine Chapter 3: New Art, New Challenges: The Changing Face of Conservation in the Twenty-First Century, Rachel Barker and Patricia Smithin, 85 Monday, October 29 th - Contemporary Case Studies/Field Day Rubin Center ESSAY #3 DUE: ALTERNATIVE VOICES IN THE MUSEUM The University Museum Wednesday, October 31 st On Blackboard: Helen Escobedo, Context of the University Museum, in New Roads for University Museums, pp 41-58* Aldona Jonatis, Joining the 21 st Century, in New Roads for University Museums, pp 181-200* Sally McDonald, Experimentation, in New Roads for University Museums, pp 279-299*. Museum Careers For this section you will find folders with articles and links on blackboard with names and dates. Monday, November 5 th - COLLECTIONS - Curators, Archivists, Preparators Wednesday, November 7 th DESIGN AND INSTALLATION Museographers, Preparators, Exhibition Designers Monday, November 12 th MONEY AND MARKETING Wednesday, November 14 th EDUCATION AND OUTREACH *7 Assign Essay # 4 Due Monday, November 26 th and Assign Final Paper Due During Final Exam Period Monday December 10th Museum Public Interpretation Education and Community Outreach - Monday, November 19 th Wednesday, November 21 st *8
Museum Governance and Funding Monday, November 26 th ESSAY #4 DUE: CAREER SURVEY Anderson Chapter 30- Creating a New Business Model, Falk and Shepard, pg 379 Chapter 31- New Ways of Experiencing Culture: The Role of Museums and Marketing Implications, Neil Kotler, pg 387 Wednesday, November 28 th *9 Anderson Chapter 38 Governance as Leadership: Bringing New Governing Mindsets to Old Challenges Chapter 40 On the Job: For Nonprofits, Final Accountability Rests in the Boardʼs Hands Chapter 41 Muliticultural Organizational Development in Nonprofit Organizations: Lessons from the Cultural Competence Initiative. Museums of the Future For this section you will find folders with articles and links on blackboard. The primary text for this section comes from the free, online PDF of The Participatory Museum by Nina Simon. Monday, December 3 rd Wednesday, December 5 th *10 FINAL EXAM DATE- MONDAY, DECEMBER 10 TH, 1:00 PM You will have a final paper not a final exam, but it will be due to me by the end of your official final exam period on this date.