Museum Studies Foundations

0 or 3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

This course introduces students to the state of museums as well as their core functions, history, and critical literature. We will examine recent debates about museums through the lens of gender studies, disability studies, critical race theory, decolonization, and environmental sustainability, with particular attention to social media movements currently calling for change. Assignments will focus both on mastering key concepts in museum studies and on considering how we can change museums to better fit society. Our focus will be on art museums, but selected topics in historic and ethnographic museums will also be considered. This class frequently meets in DC art museums. Art and Museum Studies students only.