Museum Studies Commons^™

Safeguarding For The Future: Managing Born-Digital Collections In Museums, Kimberly Kruse

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Over the past few decades, advancements in technology have changed society entirely. Every bit of information about world news, popular culture, and art is just a tap of a touchscreen away. So many aspects of the contemporary world have become digitized so that it was only a matter of time before museums would have to face the issue of born-digital media in their collections. From videos to web-based art, museums have to tackle how to save this new form of cultural heritage. Museums have to do so now before it gets lost forever. The challenge of born-digital objects lies in ...

Curiosity, Kiersten F. Latham

Proceedings from the Document Academy

No.

#Mobilephotonow: Two Art Worlds, One Hashtag, Jodi Kushins

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

In the winter of 2015, the Columbus Museum of Art (CMA) co-curated an exhibition with the loose-knit mobile photography collective known as JJ Community. #MobilePhotoNow included images created in response to a series of prompts and shared on the photo sharing and social networking application Instagram®. The exhibition reflected a community-based curatorial practice (Keys & Ballengee-Morris, 2001) demonstrating new possibilities for participatory art and culture in the age of social media. This portrait of how the project came to be is presented as an example of how art world factions might be brought together, in both virtual and real spaces, through ...

Mental Health Memories: A Web-Based Archive For Mental Health Stories, Amanda E. Castro

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The Mental Health Memories project is an online archive created in order to display and preserve the personal histories of those with mental health experiences. The project aims to fill a void in available material culture related to the history of mental health and its preservation. Participants’ contributions include: oral histories, personal items, documents, and audio. Bringing together multimedia sources, the MHMemories website allows for the preservation of these items and stories through the digitization of contributions. This method allows for participants’ items to stay in their possession while also becoming part of the archive. In order to recruit participants ...

Freed From Fascism: Berlin's Gallery Culture In The Aftermath Of World War Ii, Brooke Fessler

Student Research Day Abstracts and Posters

In post-World War II Germany, the city of Berlin was left in ruin after six years of war. A nation ripped apart both physically and at its governmental core was finally freed from Nazi fascism in 1945, and the German people were finally able to reconstruct their culture. Born out of years of strict regulation of the German art world, a new type of art was put on display. Focusing specifically on gallery culture in Berlin in the post-war years, one can see how twelve years of classically influenced Nazi art gave way to a push towards the avant-garde. The ...

Aura Of Authenticity: The Impact Of Original Objects In The Museum Guest Experience, Alyssa Frijey

Museum Studies Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to defend the maintenance of original object-based collections in museums with the argument that they provide profound, unique, and irreplaceable experiences for museum guests. Authenticity of an artifact carries with it an aura of importance which is a highly valuable means of connection within museums. Such meaning is the direct result of the manner in which human beings interpret material culture. Keeping in mind that this value can only be fully experienced through that which is original, it is crucial that original objects should be maintained in these institutions.

Museological Cinema: An Ideal Approach To A Modern Art Form, Steven Groff

Museum Studies Theses

Abstract:

This paper is dedicated to finding a way to better incorporate cinema into museums. The answer as to how came through a number of ways that some museums currently operate that could be adopted by others, a few new ideas, as well as an expansion in the number of museum theatres. A key theme of this is to expand the limited selection of films typically found in museums and galleries to include more popular fare, which would better attract visitors with frequency. I also endorse the idea of constructing new theatres for museums that do not already possess one ...

A Case Study In The Interdisciplinary: The Role Of Anthropology, Archaeology And History In Academia And Museums, Alexnadra A. Rosenberg

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis will examine the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to anthropology, archaeology and history in both academic and museum settings. Using the “Lives Bound Together: Slavery at George Washington’s Mount Vernon” exhibit as a case study, the necessity of teaching from an interdisciplinary perspective at an undergraduate level, if not before is stressed. Specific attention is given to the subfield of archaeology, the role of oral histories and descendant communities in creating museum exhibitions and the ways in which the museum presents a historical narrative about a complex and emotionally charged topic to visitors who arrive with diverse ...

Displays Of Power In English Tudor Painting (1485-1603), Laura Meisner

Student Scholar Showcase

English painting between 1485 and 1603 shaped and was shaped by a myriad of cultural influences. Art historians generally agree that because England did not produce much of its own art until the 18^th century, it had a relatively slight impact on the development of Western art. A cursory history lesson of this time frame likely omits English art apart from the appearance of Hans Holbein the Younger as court painter under Henry VIII and Nicholas Hilliard during Elizabeth I’s reign. However, a study of English paintings throughout the entire Tudor period reflects its importance not only to ...

Peace Museums On The Land Of Victims And The Land Of Perpetrators: Analyses Of Curation And Design Of The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum And The Information Center Under The Field Of Stelae In Berlin, Yuka Kitajima

Student research

This paper examines if, how and to which degree, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in Nakajima District of Hiroshima, Japan and the Information Center under the Field of Stelae in Berlin, Germany, transform a Culture of Violence and a Culture of Neutrality into a Culture of Peace. I analyzed sponsors, mission statements, exhibits, topographical and architectural designs, and geographical factors as a reflection of the degree of these selected museums’ contribution to the cultural transformation. The two selected museums stand on the soils with a complex history involving mass tragedies. Hiroshima became the first-ever victim to the atomic bombing which ...

Right To Serve, Right To Lead: Lives And Legacies Of The Usct, Matthew D. Laroche, Hannah M. Christensen, Alexandria J. Andrioli, Jennifer A. Simone, Savannah G. Rose, Jonathan G. Danchik, Laurel J. Wilson, Jonathan E. Tracey, Danielle E. Jones, Ryan D. Bilger, Savannah A. Labbe

Civil War Institute Student Research

This is a catalog for an exhibit that follows the evolution of African-American participation in the Civil War, from slaves, to contrabands, to soldiers of the United States Colored Troops (USCT), as well as the lives of black veterans beyond the war, and their ultimate military and social legacy. Using a variety of period items, it creates a narrative that stretches from the Antebellum Period to the current day. In doing so, the exhibit shows how black sacrifice on the battlefield redefined the war's purpose throughout the divided nation, how Jim Crowe suppressed the memory of black participation after ...

Niche By Basma Kavanagh, Vivian M. Hansen

The Goose

Review of Basma Kavanagh's Niche.

Against The Odds: Making A Difference In Global Health

Global Health Events

Against the Odds: Making a Difference in Global Health is a banner traveling exhibition highlighting the role of communities in improving health at home and all around the world. The exhibition explores the shared basic needs required for a good quality of life, including nutritious food and clean water, a safe place to live, and affordable health care. Using historical and contemporary photographs, the banners tell stories of collaboration between families, scientists, advocates, governments, and international organizations, all taking up the challenge to prevent disease and improve medical care. This exhibition raises awareness of the sources and effects of health ...

Tomb Raiders: Who’S To Blame?, Susan Dixon Phd, Karen Gallego, Catherine Holochwost Phd, Mey-Yen Moriuchi Phd, Aurora Pomales

Explorer Café

No abstract provided.

The Denver Museum Of Nature And Science And The Denver Art Museum: A Comparative Study Of Repatriation, Natalie R. Rudd

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, anthropologists, archaeologists, and hobbyists removed over 200,000 human bodies and 1 million of Native American cultural items, including sacred objects, and burial objects, from Indigenous village and burial sites. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) was enacted in 1990 to address and redress this human rights issue. NAGPRA requires all U.S. museums that receive federal government financial support to inventory their collections, consult with tribal nations, and return all materials that meet NAGPRA criteria, including sacred objects, burial objects, human remains, and objects of cultural patrimony to their ...

Preserving Culture Through Library Collections: The Example Of Paul Et Virginie, Kristin Hoffmann

Le Monde français du dix-huitième siècle

Kristin Hoffmann, librarian of the French collections at the Weldon Library (The University of Western Ontario) discusses the goals and tasks involved by the preparation of a library display contributing to a 18th Century literature course about Paul et Virginie.

Riding The Wave: How The Philanthropic Revolution Will Impact Museums In The United States And Canada, Sarah M. Mackey

Master's Projects and Capstones

This capstone project explores the history of philanthropy from 1970 to the present, and presents a strategy for museums to leverage contemporary trends in nonprofit giving. The methods proposed in this project are specifically targeted at engaging new community leaders and the family members of legacy donors. I have researched and created an updated job description and hiring plan for a Transformational Gift Officer. This person would be responsible for identifying, cultivating, and stewarding the donor portfolio outlined in this project. The individual who will be successful in this role will be able to move past institutional silos and collaboratively ...

The Museum Wiki: A Model For Online Collections In Museums, Morgan Schlesinger

Master's Projects and Capstones

Museums increasingly use the Internet, digitization, and social tagging to publicize their collections in online databases. However, these online collections museums frequently lack contextual and interpretive information that objects require to be understood by the general public. Other sources, such as Wikipedia, consistently deliver more in-depth information on artworks than museums. The Museum Wiki proposes a solution for the Museum Studies field to address this information gap by emulating Wikipedia’s framework of interlinked articles for online museum collections. Additionally, this model raises the online visibility of these collections by editing relevant Wikipedia articles with information from articles written for ...

Accessibility And Technology: Remote Access To Art Through Telepresence Robotics, Jenna M. Hebert

Master's Projects and Capstones

This capstone project details a proposal for a remote tour pilot program and community partnership written for the Art Institute of Chicago, Snow City Arts and the John H Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County. The proposal seeks to provide a model for remote accessibility to art museums for visitors with mobility disabilities. The pilot program utilizes telepresence technology as a tool for providing remote tours and for emulating the social benefits of a museum visit. Within the program, telepresence technology becomes a mechanism for communication and collaboration between the museum and members of the community, allowing individuals previously unable ...

Collections Management Systems At Natural History Museums: A Centralized Approach, Allison M. Pohl

Master's Projects and Capstones

Natural history museum collections are an invaluable learning tool for audiences of many ages. However, learning experiences can be hampered if collections are poorly managed. Inconsistent object numbering systems, scant information associated with a specimen, and differences in records management styles of individuals in the same organization all stem from the lack of collections management standards set forth by some institutions. Natural history museums historically manage their collections in a decentralized manner, with each collections department responsible for its own objects, managing records as the staff sees fit. This report advocates for the unification of collections in natural history museums ...