History of museums as historical institutions

Course Description: Museums are often taken for granted. However, the way art has been display has evolved from private collections to the institutions we visit today. This course introduces students to the history of museums as historical institutions from the objects as archived material to the inclusion and creation of art at the service of society. Students will examine into the history of museum in the era of mechanical and digital production from ancient Babylon to the current digital era and the virtual space Required Readings (available on Canvas): The Case for Museum. The Art Assignment | PBS Digital Studios https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=47&v=fJOJFynHR7E “A Brief History of the Art Museum” by Elizabeth Rodini https://smarthistory.org/a-brief-history-of-the-art-museum/ “Museums and History” by Alex Werner https://www.history.ac.uk/makinghistory/resources/articles/museums_and_history.html “Museums and politics: the Louvre, Paris” by Elizabeth Rodini https://smarthistory.org/museums-politic-louvre/ “The Changing Social Functions of Art Museums” by Elizabeth Rodini https://smarthistory.org/social-functions-art-museums/ How Museums Shape Meaning by Allen Farber https://smarthistory.org/how-museums-shape-meaning/ Grading Criteria: Student must write four 2 pages essays. Student must write one essay per museum category. Student must incorporate material from the Required Reading essays. The essays must include Works Cited page. Essays should be double spaced, with one-inch margins and be prepared in 12 point New Times Roman font. Paragraphs should be indented and there should be no extra space between paragraphs. For this course you should use MLA or APA formatting. (Review the sections in A Writers’ Reference.) There should be in-text citations for the tittles you use as work cited. You should include references to primary and secondary sources, including videos and articles. Internet sources must be .edu, .gov, .org. but should not be .com. You should review The College of New Rochelle’s library data base for journal articles on the topic you have selected. Writing Assignments: Student will write four two pages essays (one on each museum category). Student must include material from the required reading essays. In addition, student can include material from the Museum Category websites. 1. Art Museums Metropolitan Museum “A World of Art: The Metropolitan Museum of Art” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHrmoSlfLD0 https://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/history Museum of Modern Art “In Our Time: The Museum of Modern Art” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oly6d0zlZM 2. Science Museum American Museum of Natural History “Treasures of New York: American Museum of Natural History” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QRPyNDZ8MA 3. History Museum Black History Museums: The Dusable http://greatmuseums.org/explore/more/black_history_museums_the_dusable Lynching Memorial https://museumandmemorial.eji.org/ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/28/lynching-memorial-backlash-montgomery-alabama National Museum of African American History and Culture “New African American Museum” https://www.pbs.org/video/religion-and-ethics-newsweekly-new-african-american-museum-project-mercy-amidah-prayer/ https://www.si.edu/museums/african-american-museum “The Smithsonian’s African American Museum – A Monument to Respectability Politics” https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/sep/16/smithsonian-museum-african-american-history-respectability-politics 4. Virtual Museum Le Louvre https://www.louvre.fr/en/visites-en-ligne#tabs Guggenheim https://www.guggenheim.org/collection-online Resources: http://greatmuseums.org/