Museum Studies Commons^™

Young Romans: Status, Dress, And Gender, Mary Harlow, Lena Larsson Lovén

Textile Crossroads: Exploring European Clothing, Identity, and Culture across Millennia

The demographics of the Roman world suggest that it was a world full of children. Demographers argue that in order simply to maintain population levels in a period where life expectancy was very short by modern standards, and infant mortality high, a woman should, on average, have six children, on the assumption that not all would live to adulthood. Despite much research in the last fifty years, children still remain partly invisible in the Roman world. This is primarily because they leave little evidence produced by themselves and are seen through the prism of adult eyes. Inevitably, given the nature …

Narrative And Material Tools Of Resistance: Mobilizing Textile Crafts, Heritage, And Fashion In The Context Of The Invasion Of Ukraine (2022–2023), Magali-An Berthon, Sophia Hayda, Tetiana Krupa, Yuliia Lazorenko, Marie-Louise Nosch

Textile Crossroads: Exploring European Clothing, Identity, and Culture across Millennia

In 2022–2024, textile and fashion scholars came together to write an anthology sharing a new vision of European history as seen through textiles, in the COST Action EuroWeb. During this period, the continent was still dealing with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and was then faced with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Contemporary European history will be markedly defined by the ongoing war in Ukraine. One remarkable aspect of this conflict is the way textiles and dress appear daily in a variety of media outlets, mobilized as visual and semiotic means to communicate issues of war …

A Sensory Perspective On High-Ranked Women’S Dress In The 8th To 4th Century Bc In The Mediterranean And Central Europe, Karina Grömer, Susanna Harris, Audrey Gouy, Cecilie Brøns

Textile Crossroads: Exploring European Clothing, Identity, and Culture across Millennia

In the late 20th century, the study of western science was dominated by a philosophical approach to evidence as text and meaning. In archaeology, material culture was treated like text, to be read through systems of signs, symbols, and indices put together in syntax. For studies of dress, this was influential in understanding dress as a cognitive system compiled to create identities and meaning. In this approach, textiles, fastenings, hairstyles, and gestures are presented as signs and symbols used to form a statement about identity, to be read by others. There was a focus on the visuality of dress and …

Burning Fear, Amy Dorie

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Climate change is leading to more intense and devastating wildfires that lead to tragic loss of life and property (Cal Fire, 2018; Sinco et al., 2023) and disturbing environmental impacts (OECD, 2023). The purpose of this textile design was to create an activist design that communicates the fear and anxiety felt by those impacted by wildfires. First-hand accounts of those experiencing wildfires were researched as inspiration for the textile design. Based on the accounts, a selection of wildfire-related images were cropped in irregular shapes, placed around the canvas, and blended evoking a sense of chaos and devastation. An image of …

Caring Cloth Praxis: Ethics Of Loss, Practices Of Remembering, Suzanna James

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

This research, in continual development as a part of early PhD study, is currently entitled ‘Ethics of Loss, Practices of Remembering’ and locates itself within the field of cultural sustainability. It is foregrounded by my MA thesis entitled ‘Caring Cloth’ and works in response to the words of Louise Bourgeois: ‘the needle is used to repair damage, its claim to forgiveness.’ My own socially and environmentally regenerative textiles practice considers the way in which personal practices of remembering can be developed in response to cultural sustainability.

This textiles practice develops explorative visual textile art and social textile practice research which …

23 Extinct Redwork Quilt Project: Repairing Relationships With Our More-Than-Human Kin, Stitch By Stich, Heather Kerley

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

In 2021, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service proposed 23 species for delisting from the Endangered Species Act due to extinction. I would like to present my redwork quilt, Mourning Lost Kin (23 Extinct), which honors each of these species. I plan to share my process from researching and sketching each species to the embroidering of each block and the over-all construction of the quilt. But most importantly, I would love to share the stories of these species, the layers of meaning in this quilt, and the many questions it raised for me over the course of two years. …

Public Patriotism, Silent Dissent: Women And The Making Of Senninbari In Wartime Japan, Mariko Nagai

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

During the early years of the so-called “Fifteen Year War” (1931–1945), Japanese women and girls created senninbari when men received draft notices to serve. Often worn around soldiers’ waists underneath their uniforms, these sash-shaped talisman were embroidered with 1,000 red knots, each knot made by a woman. In a time when the Japanese government censored dissenting voices against its militaristic and nationalistic foreign and domestic policies, this government-encouraged gesture of stitching senninbari became one of the few ways in which women could voice their personal protests within patriarchal gender expressions (良妻賢母 “good wife, wise mother”). Senninbari’s design evolved with regional- …

Textile As Cultural Technology: The Evolution Of Robert Rauschenberg’S Jammers, 1975–6, Katya Oicherman

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Robert Rauschenberg suggested that any material has a “humanitarian reportage” or a history built into it, that opens art to the “strange and unpredictable” experience only comparable to everyday reality. Developing this idea, I will focus on the Jammers, a series of works with significant textile presence produced in 1975–76, and discuss how Rauschenberg’s relationship to textiles evolved from treating them as “materials” to recognizing them as cultural technologies. In 1975 he was on a fellowship in Ahmedabad, India, a period of intense experimentation.

Textiles were already a significant presence in his art, playing a subservient role of materials …

Textile Ways Of Thinking As A Trauma-Informed Design Tool To Research And Understand Communities, Smrti Ganesan, Nishanth Srikanth

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

There has been a shift in methodologies in the broader world of design. Today, co-design and participatory methods are a vital part of the modern designer's toolkit, and designers are finding new ways to interact with communities and design solutions that are more responsive to the actual needs of those communities.

Textile design has historically been a medium for expressing and processing traumatic experiences, reflecting individual and collective traumas in society. Textiles have also historically served not only as a form of artistic expression but also as a powerful tool in activism, particularly within feminist movements. Recent developments have seen …

Solidarity Dividend With Us Wool And Community Engagement To Address Socioeconomic Inequities, Helen X. Trejo, Angela Becerril

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

As a long-standing natural fiber, wool provides an opportunity for community engagement and reflexive practice. Our process involved sourcing wool from US sheep and wool farms in lower income areas and hands-on textile development, and intersectional reflection. Being at a Hispanic Serving Institution, informed approaches to engage with concepts, such as the “zerosum paradigm” and “Solidarity Dividend” based on Heather McGhee’s NY Times Best Selling book “The Sum of Us.” It explores how racism affects intergenerational wealth among minorities. The zero-sum paradigm is the idea that progress is a tradeoff; benefits to some is at an expense for others. The …

Lavenz, Valenz, Levenxë, Lavexha, Lavenzka: Woven Felted Blankets From The Korçë Region In Southeastern Albania, Alexis Zoto

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

This paper will look at and document colors and patterns and motifs of woven and felted blankets from the Korçë region of southeastern Albania. Very little is published on these textiles. This paper will document the disappearing and under appreciated textile, and why are they no longer understood or valued. In Albania and in Albanian diaspora communities this textile has had different names in prewar, prewar Korçare dialect and now.

I will be drawing from information gathered interviewing parishioners who volunteered to share their heirlooms and information gathered from examining the textile(s). These heirlooms belong to members of multiple generations …

Affective Infrastructure And The Chilean Memorial Museum, Diego Borgsdorf Fuenzalida

Pitzer Senior Theses

The civic-military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990) represented a period of unprecedented political violence in Chile — a time in which the government of the socialist president Salvador Allende was overthrown in a bloody coup d’etat, army and police forces detained and tortured people suspected of affiliation with leftist activism, and hundreds of thousands of people were exiled from national territory. Post-dictatorship transitional governments have materialized a contested apparatus of institutions with the purpose of memorializing the victims of such violence, principal among them being the memorial museum. Based on ethnographic and collections research as a worker in the Museo …

Exploring The Usefulness Of Pre-Visit Materials For Children With Autism At A Public Museum, Jennifer K. Fortuna, Elaine Chamberlain, Libby Filice, Madeline Kurt, Taylor Porter, Shannon Twichell, Stephanie Ogren

Translational Science in Occupation

Abstract

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) participate in community-based settings at lower rates than typically developing children. Museums provide a structured, predictable, and supportive place for children with ASD to learn. Visiting a museum may create unique challenges for children with ASD and their families. Sensory processing disorder (SPD) is a common barrier to participation that makes it difficult to process information coming in through the senses. For children who are easily overstimulated, crowds, noise, and long lines can be a source of anxiety and stress. Providing pre-visit materials such as social stories, accessibility maps, and communication books can …

Establishing A Museum At Washington State School For The Blind, Robert J. Schimelpfenig

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

The Washington State School for the Blind (WSSB) contains archival collections that document over 100 years of school history and student life. These histories are preserved in scrapbooks, news clippings, photographs, and an assortment of bygone assistive technologies that demonstrate the evolution of blind education and its impact on students. As many of these objects have lingered for years in storage, collections from one of the oldest schools for the blind in the Western United States remain hidden. WSSB and the Washington State University (WSU) Vancouver Library have agreed to work together in partnership to establish a museum and archives. …

Building Engaged Audiences: The Influence Of Multimedia-Inclusive Posts On Online Engagement Breadth And Depth For Arts And Culture Nonprofit Organizations, Sabrina Jeffcoat

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

In recent years, broad access to digital communication tools provided by the “tech boom” has forced arts and culture nonprofit organizations (ACNPO) to transition to social media and mobile applications to engage audiences. While various approaches focus on building breadth (i.e. recirculation of content) and depth (i.e. replies) of engagement, ACNPO use multimedia to spur discussion and dissemination of their mission. Dependent on individual donors who generally give in small amounts, ACNPO are reliant on effective and visual social media campaigns to drive virality and broaden marketing appeal. Yet questions remain whether the presence of multimedia-inclusive posts (MIP) generates broader …

From Margins To Museums: Tracing The Evolution Of Representation For Contemporary African Artists In The United States, Victoria Mouraux Durand-Ruel

Master's Theses

This thesis examines the impact of the Black Lives Matter movement on the art community in the United States and the evolution of representation for Contemporary African artists. By analyzing the careers and artistic contributions of Omar Ba, Toyin Ojih Odutola, and Njideka Akunyili Crosby, the study explores the concept of artistic agency according to which African artists have more control over the production and distribution of their works.

The research begins with a comprehensive literature review, investigating the historical contexts that have shaped the art landscape, including the impact of colonization, decolonization, and globalization. The study reveals how these …

Revealing Tarumanagara Kingdom Indigenous Knowledge From The Jakarta History Museum Collections, Rizki Nurislaminingsih, Heriyanto Heriyanto

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Tarumanagara is the oldest kingdom in Java island with its territory along the west coast of Java island. Their socio-cultural was diverse which were created by the people who live in every region of Java. Their legacy is now preserved in the Jakarta History Museum which tell about the Tarumanagara indigenous knowledge. This study aims to identify the knowledge through the Jakarta History Museum collections. Museum studies approach was employed to identify the indigenous knowledge of Tarumanagara people. The findings show that behind the the Jakarta History Museum collections there are stories that represent the indigenous knowledge of the Tarumanagara …

Bolting The Landscape: An Ethnography Of Yosemite As A Significant Climbing Destination, Vanessa Taylor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Yosemite Valley is a transformative landscape that helps to shape climbers’ identities and fosters a unique sense of community, which continually reinforces its status as a renowned and evolving climbing destination. The historical influence of Yosemite Valley on rock climbing began in the 1950s and has since defined itself as a prominent destination for climbers worldwide. This ethnographic research analyzes how climbers forge a meaningful connection with the Valley by forming a deep sense of place that intertwines with their personal identities as climbers and investigates the intricate relationship between climbers’ identities and the Yosemite landscape. This research also explores …

The Politics Of Preservation: Stewarding Artifacts In Archives, Kollynn Hendry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Kay Bailey Hutchison served Texas and the United States in many capacities during her political career. She vastly impacted Texas, as well as Nacogdoches, Texas in particular, through her time serving as a member of the Texas House of Representatives and as a United States Senator. In 2012, she donated her massive collection of gifts and memorabilia to the East Texas Research Center, a regional archive at Stephen F. Austin State University. The university honored her donation by creating a room to display the collection and interpret her influence on East Texas. Due to a rushed timeline, administrative interference, and …

Programa De La Conferencia Segundo Congreso Internacional De Iconografía Precolombina

Segundo congreso internacional de iconografía precolombina. Barcelona, 2023. Actas.

Barcelona, 2023.

Victòria Solanilla, organizador

17 al 20 de octubre de 2023.

En el Museu de Cultures del Món de Barcelona. Calle Montcada, nº12-14, 08003, Barcelona.

Y en el Institut d’Estudis Catalans. Calle del Carme, nº 47, 08001, Barcelona.

Organizado por el GRUP d'ESTUDIS PRECOLOMBINS· con el apoyo del MUSEU ETNOLÒGIC I DE CULTURES DEL MÓN· INSTITUT D'ESTUDIS CATALANS· SOCIETAT CATALANA D'ESTUDIS HISTÒRICS

Creating & Maintaining An Oral History Program, Carrie Meyer, Larissa Krayer

Posters and Presentations: Leon S. McGoogan Health Sciences Library

Oral history programs are needed, especially for documenting marginalized voices. But what does it take to start and maintain them? Through the McGoogan Health Sciences Library’s efforts in formalizing, professionalizing, and integrating oral histories into exhibits in the Wigton Heritage Center, participants will gain insight for crafting oral history endeavors.

Providing Risk Of The Environment’S Changing Climate Threats For Galleries, Libraries, Archives, & Museums (Protecct-Glam) Data File, Edward Benoit Iii, Jill Trepanier, Jennifer Vanos, Haley Moore, Kaitlyn Bailey, Emily Fisher, Annie Waddell, Mandy Hatman, Mary Sidwell, Symonne Russell, Virginia Seger, Paige Boutte, Amanda Latta, Zoe Mohammad, Kyriel Felton, Erin Deliman, Breanna Benson-Pearce, Wendy Johnson, Allyson Russell, Baillie Pretzer, Christopher Reeder, Melissa Mcconnell, Lisa Dahlke, Kaitlynn Melear, Lillian Bodi, Savannah T. Lyle, Zach Lannes, Gwen L. Wells, Benjamin A. Teincuff, Jason M. Straight, Tiffany Rockwell, Shane T. Manthei, Jennifer L. Benner, Jane Fiegel, Amanda Lima, Elizabeth Rininger, Caroline Melinger, Deborah Metz-Andrews, Meryl Roepke, Karen Isaac, Mallory Collins

School of Information Studies Datasets

The data file was created as part of the IMLS-funded project, PROTECCT-GLAM: Risk of The Environment’s Changing Climate Threats for Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums in an effort to gather the identities and georeferences of all galleries, libraries, archives, and museums located within the United States.

The data file includes 22,388 archives, 21,189 libraries, and 29,781 museums.

Museum Professionals In Special Collections And Library Exhibition Development, Carrie Meyer, Darby Kurtz

Posters and Presentations: Leon S. McGoogan Health Sciences Library

In June 2021, the McGoogan Health Sciences Library opened the Wigton Heritage Center on the University of Nebraska Medical Center campus. This facility serves as a welcome center and museum for the history of the UNMC campus and explores the history of the health sciences in Nebraska. You read that right—a library opened a museum. Special Collection and Archives (SCA) professionals exist in a unique environment that utilizes three cultural heritage and preservation professions—libraries, archives, and museums. The Wigton Heritage Center project explores how museum practices for exhibition development, environmental monitoring, and curatorial practice are utilized in a library environment. …

Customize And Outsource Exhibits: Not As Easy As You Think, Carrie Meyer, Darby Kurtz

Posters and Presentations: Leon S. McGoogan Health Sciences Library

In the summer of 2019, UNMC’s McGoogan Health Sciences Library closed for renovation. At the same time, new construction of the Wigton Heritage Center, a museum dedicated to the history of UNMC and the health sciences in Nebraska, began. The team worked with an outside design firm on all the typical exhibition creation needs and then along came a pandemic, and a few other “glitches” along the way. In 2021, Phase 1a opened, and Phases 1b and 2 followed in 2022-2023. We will share the good, bad, and unfortunate lessons learned from our experience of building a museum—remotely—with multiple designers …

Museums, Covid-19 And The Pivot To Social Media, Jamie Larkin, Andrea Ballatore, Ekaterina Mityrova

CCI Articles and Research

This paper examines social media activity by UK museums during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a general perception that as museums closed their doors for extended periods, their digital presence increased to maintain connections with their audiences. However, much of the research conducted in this area is based on small-scale studies and examples of best practice from large, well-resourced museums. By contrast, this study utilizes a comprehensive database of over 3300 active UK museums to understand the use of Facebook and Twitter across the sector. Specifically, the paper examines the frequency with which museums posted to these digital platforms as …

Physical Accessibility And Historic Preservation In Historic House Museums Of The Southeast, Abby Milonas

All Theses

Museums are a public good, as they provide educational recreation and preserve cultural history, and so it is crucial that they are physically accessible to as many visitors as possible. The aim of this study was to understand what architectural features of historic house museums are the least accessible and what has been done to ameliorate these challenges. The survey used in the study was developed using the guidelines for making historic buildings accessible as described in the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards. It was distributed by email to representatives of 220 historic sites, of …

Triadic Pattern Total Theatre As A Model For Theater Directing Methods Based On The Construction Of Triangtu Sundanese Philosophical Values, Tatang Rusmana

International Review of Humanities Studies

The three basic values of the philosophy of life belonging to the culture of the Sundanese people in Indonesia are the principles of triadic patterns of life contained in the Tritangtu Sunda philosophy. The three basic philosophical values contain a view of the division of triadic worlds, namely Buana Nyungcung (upper world, metaphor; sky, water, and women), Buana Larang (underworld, metaphor; earth, land, and men), and Buana Pancatengah ( Middle world, metaphor; stone, human, male and female, and life behavior). Tritangtu Sunda is a cosmic perspective of the unification of three interconnected worlds in the life of the Sundanese people. …

Intensifying The Experience Of Contemporary Art, Wanjin Feng

Masters Theses

Contemporary Art museums, emphasizing visual experience- es, struggle to accommodate multi-sensory art forms. This thesis introduces a groundbreaking exhibition design mod- el focused on creating immersive, multi-sensory experiences for visitors. The model transitions from a passive observation paradigm to an interactive perception approach, fostering a deeper understanding and emotional connection to art.

Applied to the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), the model introduces strategies such as narrative sculptures, interactive drawing spaces, integrated reading within exhibitions, and emotionally-driven spatial design. These strategies aim to make art more accessible, promoting personal connections with artworks.

In conclusion, the proposed model transforms contemporary art …

The Artistry Of Mediation: A Look At Mediation’S Effectiveness For Resolving Cross-Cultural Disputes Through The Leonardo Da Vinci Conflict Between France’S Louvre Museum And Italy’S Uffizi Gallery, Sophia D. Casetta

Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research

Art is powerful, as it symbolizes the history and identity of the country that claims it. However, through timely transitions, such as trade and wars, the ownership of meaningful artworks blurs, with museums fighting to claim their heritage to put on honorable display for their people. Mediation can be a peaceful means to resolve art ownership disputes, as it accounts for respecting the individual cultures of the countries represented in the dispute. Using the key medication traits described within this essay, a prepared mediator involved in such a cross-cultural conflict should be able to help resolve the issue at hand. …

“I’M Not Searching The Right Words”: User Experience Searching Historic Clothing Collection Websites, Arden Kirkland, Monica Sklar, Clare Sauro, Leon Wiebers, Sara Idacavage, Julia Mun

School of Information Studies - Faculty Scholarship

This study investigates the search processes of users accessing public websites representing historic clothing collections, examining where their searches are supported by the metadata in the collection databases and what factors could make their experience more inclusive. With IRB approval from four universities, we performed a recorded experiment with twenty adults: ten students of historic dress and ten fashion professionals. Four tasks included search scenarios and images representing diverse historic garments. Results indicate that both the descriptive metadata and search features on collection websites present challenges for the typical user search process. Users search for historical dress content the way …