Category Archives: Theory & Practice, Volume 2

Commentary: Let the Great Experiment Begin! Reforming Visitor Services for the 21st Century C. ANDREW COULOMB  Theory and Practice, Vol. 2, 2019 Abstract Two of the biggest issues in the museum field are the lack of entry-level jobs and the “dead-end” nature of Visitor Services. In the museum of the future, my goal is to changeContinue reading “Commentary: Let the Great Experiment Begin! Reforming Visitor Services for the 21st Century”

Why Not Museums? The Social Potential of Museums DANIELLE BENNETT, MA Theory and Practice, Vol. 2, 2019 Abstract In an age of reduced government funding for cultural institutions and increased cultural diversity and economic struggle, museums must find solutions that allow them to thrive in conjunction with their communities. One of the ways that museums canContinue reading “Why Not Museums? The Social Potential of Museums”

The Need for Diversity and Inclusion in Developing Narratives CASSANDRA R. CAVNESS Theory and Practice, Vol. 2, 2019 Abstract Objects: they are the reason we visit museums and the reason most museum professionals are drawn to the field. Without objects, museums would be vast and empty spaces attempting to tell a story without content to conceptualize aContinue reading “The Need for Diversity and Inclusion in Developing Narratives”

Pathways for Empathetic Understanding in Modern and Contemporary Art Museums CAROLYN KEOGH Theory and Practice, Vol. 2, 2019 Abstract In recent years, questions about our capacity for and ability to learn empathy have gained new social, educational, political, and philosophical traction. In 2017, the Minneapolis Institute of Art received a grant to study how museum-going canContinue reading “Pathways for Empathetic Understanding in Modern and Contemporary Art Museums”

Room for Relevance — An Exploration of Synthesizing Emotional Space with Transdisciplinary Design Approaches ZACHARY MOSLEY, MFA  Theory and Practice, Vol. 2, 2019 Abstract What happens when we experience something emotionally challenging? We need room to breathe. Some of us, many of us, need to talk about it and process it in a variety of personalContinue reading “Room for Relevance — An Exploration of Synthesizing Emotional Space with Transdisciplinary Design Approaches”

Power & Protest: Using Community Exhibition Practices for Engaging San José’s African American Community AZHA SIMMONS, MA/MBA Theory and Practice, Vol. 2, 2019 Abstract Community engagement and representation are essential to keeping museums relevant to their surrounding communities. Exhibitions are a fundamental instrument utilized by museums for telling a story or presenting a point of view.Continue reading “Power & Protest: Using Community Exhibition Practices for Engaging San José’s African American Community”

Peopling the Past: Living History and Inclusive Museum Practice AJA BAIN, MA Theory and Practice, Vol. 2, 2019 Abstract In seeking to understand the past through places, objects, and intangible heritage rather than documents exclusively, public history offers a democratizing and more diverse exploration of the past. But what about understanding the past through action? LivingContinue reading “Peopling the Past: Living History and Inclusive Museum Practice”

Cultivating “Mutual” Stewardship for Smithsonian Collections SHANNON NORTZ, MA Theory and Practice, Vol. 2, 2019 Abstract The Smithsonian Institution’s 19 museums and galleries, National Zoo, archives, and libraries currently have 155.5 million collections items, 163,300 cubic feet of archival material, and more than 2.2 million library volumes. The unprecedented size and breadth of the collection naturallyContinue reading “Cultivating “Mutual” Stewardship for Smithsonian Collections”

Curating Racism: Understanding Field Museum Physical Anthropology from 1893 to 1969 LUCIA PROCOPIO Theory and Practice, Vol. 2, 2019 Abstract Early anthropological study has often been credited with advancing both existing and new racist ideologies. As major research institutions, nineteenth and twentieth-century museums were often complicit in this process. This paper uses the Field Museum asContinue reading “Curating Racism: Understanding Field Museum Physical Anthropology from 1893 to 1969”

Exhibition Review: ‘Beyond Curie’ – a Design Project Celebrating Women in STEM HELENA AROSE, MSc Theory and Practice, Vol. 2, 2019 Abstract In 1989 the Guerrilla Girls posed the question: “Do women have to be naked to get into the Met Museum?” contrasting the statistics of women artist’s work on display with nude paintings of womenContinue reading “Exhibition Review: ‘Beyond Curie’ – a Design Project Celebrating Women in STEM”