Museums (395-0-1)

Topic

Museums and Responsibility

Instructors

Kathleen Bickford Berzock

Meeting Info

Block Conference Room: Mon, Wed 3:30PM - 4:50PM

Overview of class

In 2020, ICOM (International Council of Museums) ratified an updated definition of "museum", which states: A museum is a not-for-profit, permanent institution in the service of society that researches, collects, conserves, interprets and exhibits tangible and intangible heritage. Open to the public, accessible and inclusive, museums foster diversity and sustainability. They operate and communicate ethically, professionally and with the participation of communities, offering varied experiences for education, enjoyment, reflection, and knowledge sharing.

In this course we will consider the responsibility of museums, a question that undergirds the ICOM definition, through a close look at some of the most pressing issues in museums today. Topics will include the restitution and repatriation of artworks; the threatened sale of museum collections to cover debt; the role of museums in the global climate crisis; and collaborative curatorial practices that build and sustain community relationships. Among the questions that will be raised and debated in the course are: what responsibilities do museums have for the care and stewardship of their collections? What do museums owe to individuals and communities with connections to the objects currently in their care? What obligations do museums have to donors, founders, and funders? What makes museums good neighbors in the communities where they are based? How should museums take account of their histories and their sites? We will focus on several case studies through readings, dialogue with practitioners and knowledge sharers, class discussions, and engagement with current Block exhibitions—Hamdia Traoré's Des marabouts de Djenné and Muslim Portraiture in Mali and Teresa Montoya's Tó Łitso (Yellow Water): Ten Years after the Gold King Mine Spill.

Class Attributes

Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Pre-registration -- Reserved for Art History majors and minors, & Art Theory majors and minors.