Museum Studies Commons^™

Selective Remembrance: Constructing Nostalgia At The Park Chung Hee Presidential Museum, Abigail Shaw

Honors Theses

How and why does Park Chung Hee remain so potent in the minds of South Koreans, decades after his rule? Seungsook Moon (2009) describes the phenomenon as Park Chung Hee Syndrome: a cultural condition in which Park’s image circulates between glorification, demonization, and humanization, producing an unresolved and emotionally charged field of memory. Building on this, researchers have examined how a type of “Park Chung Hee nostalgia” operates through selective remembrance of developmental success, moral discipline, and national unity, ultimately creating a positive memory and longing for semblance of his long-ended rule (Park, 2011; Podoler, 2016; Lee, 2022).

Statues and …

Tetradrachms, Shekels, And Denarii: Cross-Cultural Exchange In Money At The Edges Of Greece And Rome, Miles Thompson

Honors Theses

This thesis focuses on the coin collection of the University of Mississippi Museum. I cataloged ancient coins in its collection through consulting online databases and reference books, and designed an exhibition to display some of the notable examples. This exhibition was based around the theme of cross-cultural interaction between Greek and Roman cultures and other ones towards the edges. It had both a physical and virtual component, and was displayed in Bryant Hall, and the museum’s website. I provide greater historical depth and research on some of the coins I cataloged that illustrate these cross-cultural interactions well. This exhibition successfully …

The Tests Of Time: An Examination Of Contemporary Indigenous Artwork On Display In Southern Museums, Gwendolyn R. Pfrenger

Honors Theses

This paper examines current practices in three Southern museums of varying sizes and missions as they relate to the curation and display of Indigenous art. Specifically, the paper aims to investigate the place of contemporary Native art in art and anthropology museums: How does display vary across the two disciplines? What is its role, now that cultural institutions are becoming more progressive and making a stronger push toward representing artists from minority groups? This is a fairly new area of study, especially for art history, so much of what is discussed here is drawn from art historians, anthropologists, and museum …

Reframing Culture: The Decolonization And Repatriation Process In The Italian Museum System, Leila De Gruy

Honors Theses

In 2022, the collections of the former Museo Coloniale, Colonial Museum, were reopened to the public as a part of the Museo delle Civiltà in Rome. This reopening, viewed by many as an exhumation of fascist dictator Mussolini’s former collection, in the neighborhood he built for the World Fair, reinvigorated the debate surrounding museum decolonization and brought Italy into the spotlight for this topic. This thesis seeks to explore the conversation surrounding the topic of Italian museum decolonization, using the Museo Coloniale’s collection as the primary example of a colonial museum in a post colonial world. Through this, it asks …

Unesco World Heritage: Striving For Utopia Through Universal Value, Caleb Phillips

Honors Theses

With this thesis, I take a critical look at the UNESCO World Heritage Convention and its mission to foster international unity through the creation of World Heritage Sites. The World Heritage Convention was created with good intentions, but in attempting to actualize its original objectives, the Convention has strayed from its goals. By looking at the events leading up to the creation of the World Heritage Convention, the Convention itself, and the various measures carried out by the Convention since its creation, it is clear that the UNESCO World Heritage Convention still has work to do to achieve its utopian …

Preservation And Public History In Mound Bayou, Mississippi, Walker Bray

Honors Theses

This paper is an exploration of the history of Mound Bayou, Mississippi, an all Black community in the Mississippi Delta formed by freedmen in the wake of Reconstruction. This paper also discusses the ways in which Mound Bayou citizens are working to preserve their history and make it known to a wider audience. In particular, this work discusses the recently opened Mound Bayou Museum of African American Culture and History and related efforts to restore and preserve historic structures in Mound Bayou. In addition, this work also seeks to explore ways in which the University of Mississippi can effectively supplement …

It's Just Caring: Improving The Museum Experience For Visitors With Autism Through Social Narratives, Reagan R. Stone

Honors Theses

This project explores how museums can improve the visitor experience for visitors with disabilities, more specifically for visitors with autism. In general, museums are environments that have a specific set of rules, guidelines, and built-in social interactions that visitors are expected to understand and follow. These guidelines, as well as the sensory overload that exists within a new environment, can make visiting the museum a stressful, and even negative experience for individuals with autism and their families. A social narrative, a simple written and visual guide that explains characteristics of new environments and various aspects of social situations, is a …

The University Of Mississippi Cultural Center, Edwin E. (Edwin Earnest) Meek (1940-)

Publications

A proposal for a cultural center on the east side of the University of Mississippi campus encompassing Rowan Oak, Bailey's Woods, and the Memory House while adding an arboretum and planetarium among other features.