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_________
ANTH 397: Anthropology and Museums
Instructor: Dr. Morag M. Kersel
Class Location: Levan 504
Office: 2347 N. Racine, Room B-03
Class Time: Tues/Thurs 12-1:30
Office: 2347 N. Racine, Room B-03
Class Time: Tues/Thurs 12-1:30
Phone: 773-325-4434
Office Hours: M/W 12:00-1:00pm
Email: mkersel@depaul.edu
What do people want?
This course will examine critically the intersection between anthropology and museums. From functional, historical, material, and aesthetic perspectives, the relationships between the cultural con- texts of objects and museums will be examined. This course will provide an introduction to the history, purposes, transformations, and internal workings of museums from an anthropological perspective. Students will learn about museums that focus on natural related to anthropological studies of archaeology, human evolution, and world ethnography. It will cover the rele- vance of anthropological training to careers in the museum field, as well as the importance of conducting anthropological investigations in the museum environment. Case studies, guest lectures, and site visits (virtual and real) will be used to demonstrate evolving theory, practice, law, and ethical implications in museums. As a class we will explore what visitors want from their museum experience. Readings will include both primary sources and anthropological/historical studies. This is not a lecture-based course – emphasis is on class participation and presentations. THIS IS A SEMINAR!!!
Course Objectives
- Demonstrate an understanding of the history and organization of museums
-Develop an understanding of contested arenas involving the representation of peoples and cultures, ethical issues of cultural property, and specific museum functions including preservation and education.
-Debate ethical issues pertaining to museums
-Discuss critically, in written and verbal form, current issues in the philosophy of museums, museum missions, representation of the past, interpretation of cultural objects, and the role of museums in society
-Design, carryout, and assess a museum visitor preference survey
-Locate the core museum studies literature, principal museum organizations, and museum reference sources, including on-line resources
-Engage in the critical analysis of museum exhibitions and programs and application of anthropological approaches in the construction of knowledge.
-Work collaboratively with others in teams based learning and problem solving
Course Format and Evaluation
Classes will be a mixture of lectures, guest lecturers, field trips, films, discussion, debates, and student presentations. This course requires active and consistent participation through steady reading, writing, and involvement. Students are expected to attend class, read the articles as assigned, participate in field trips, and to discuss the course content.
Class Participation (20%) - Students are expected to attend all classes, complete the reading assignments, and participate actively in every class.
What Visitors Want Survey (30%) - Develop and carry out an exit survey with visitors to the DePaul Art Museum exhibit - On Space and Place: Contemporary Art from Chicago, Los Angeles, Mexico City and Vancouver.
Hot Topics in museums (20%) – Discussion, summary, response and questions to hot topics related to museums in the headline news. Pairs will be asked to assign readings, lead the class discussion (with or without a ppt), and turn in a brief (500 word) summary of the hot topic.
Your CLASS PARTICIPATION will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
A Student has read the assignments, actively engages with the classroom environment, and expresses judgments and/or poses questions at each class session; student is prepared, at all times, to give clear summary of the assigned readings and relate readings to in class work. Student attends all or nearly all course meetings.
B Student participates as above 75% of the time.
C Student does not volunteer, only responds when called upon; student’s responses demonstrate vague familiarity with course assignments. Student shows little attentiveness and engagement in classroom.
D Student never volunteers, cannot respond to direct questions, keeps silent during classroom discussions and unable to summarize course materials. Student is inattentive and disengaged in class.
F Student sits silently in class. Student is disengaged in class discussions and pursues in appropriate behaviors such as sleeping, using electronic devices, or doing other homework or talking and generally disrupting class.
Your WRITTEN WORK will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
A Demonstrates work of extraordinarily high quality; unusually thorough and comprehensive understanding of issues; presents a clearly identifiable thesis and supporting argument that demonstrates a cogent and creative development and support of ideas.
B Demonstrates work of high quality; reflects clearly organized and comprehensive understanding of issues; presents a substantive thesis and argument with evidence of development and support of ideas.
C Demonstrates work that minimally meets requirements set forward in assignment; reflects some organization and development of ideas, but develops argument in superficial or simplistic manner; may only address part of the assignment or be otherwise incomplete.
D Demonstrates work of poor quality which does not meet minimum requirements; demonstrates poor organization of ideas and/or inattention to development of ideas, grammar, spelling; treatment of material is superficial and/or simplistic; may indicate that student has not done class reading.
F Demonstrates work that does not meet any of the standards set above.
Grading
Seminar Participation
The ability to participate in seminar discussions is an essential skill. Seminars will take a variety of forms including short presentations, debates, question and answer sessions with guest speakers, field trip, and open discussion. Emergency-related absences must be communicated to me via e-mail or phone BEFORE THE CLASS MEETS!
Unavoidable Realities
If you cannot complete an assignment on time for any reason, you are responsible for contacting me as soon as possible. Late assignments will be penalized for each day after the deadline. You are responsible for knowing all due dates on the syllabus. The final syllabus posted at the beginning of the term will include deadlines for all assignments: it is your responsibility to know when assignments are due. There will be no extra credit material. If you do not complete course work by term's end you will receive no credit for unfinished work.
The course will require students to develop and demonstrate core communication and quantitative skills; critical thinking; integration of knowledge; intellectual depth, breadth, and adaptability; understanding of society and culture; and ability to make informed value and ethical judgments.
Disability Accommodations
SMALL ASSIGNMENT #1: ASK-A-CURATOR
DUE – September 14, 2016
Ask-a-Curator is a worldwide question and answer session, where interested members of the public can post questions to museum and gallery curators via Twitter. Of course, you can ask museums question via Twitter at any time, but what makes it special is that curators will be answering in real time and that so many curators are taking part at once. This year, over 500 museums from over 30 different countries have signed up to take part.
Your Mission:
Check the list of participating museum curators (http://www.mardixon.com/wordpress/askacurator- who-to-ask/) do some background research on your curator/museum and think of a question to pose via twitter (that means a question of 140 characters) on September 14, 2016. The question could be related to visitors to museums and what they want. Storify or do a screen capture of the question and answer and post in D2L dropbox. Be sure to use #ANT374 in the tweet. On TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 20 we will go over the various questions and responses.
SMALL ASSIGNMENT #2 FROM THE MIXED- UP FILES OF MRS. BASIL E. FRANKWEILER
DUE – Tuesday September 20
Museum visitors and hot topics in E.L. Konigsburg (1968) From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
• What do we know about museums, museum visitors, and hot topics facing museums from this novel?
• Write a 500 word (2 double spaced pages).
• Writing assignment and class discussion (TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 20).
ASSIGNMENT #1: Hot Topics in Museums! Assigning class reading and leading discussion
-Engage in the critical analysis of museum exhibitions and programs and application of anthropological approaches in the construction of knowledge.
-Work collaboratively with others in teams based learning and problem solving
Course Format and Evaluation
Classes will be a mixture of lectures, guest lecturers, field trips, films, discussion, debates, and student presentations. This course requires active and consistent participation through steady reading, writing, and involvement. Students are expected to attend class, read the articles as assigned, participate in field trips, and to discuss the course content.
Class Participation (20%) - Students are expected to attend all classes, complete the reading assignments, and participate actively in every class.
What Visitors Want Survey (30%) - Develop and carry out an exit survey with visitors to the DePaul Art Museum exhibit - On Space and Place: Contemporary Art from Chicago, Los Angeles, Mexico City and Vancouver.
Hot Topics in museums (20%) – Discussion, summary, response and questions to hot topics related to museums in the headline news. Pairs will be asked to assign readings, lead the class discussion (with or without a ppt), and turn in a brief (500 word) summary of the hot topic.
‘Small’
Assignments (15%) – There will be 3 small assignments (2-5 pages, roughly) worth 5%
each. These will be due by class time the week.
Museum Ethnography Book Review (15%) – Write a 1000 word (4 double spaced pages) review of a muse- um ethnography (see list provided).
A Student has read the assignments, actively engages with the classroom environment, and expresses judgments and/or poses questions at each class session; student is prepared, at all times, to give clear summary of the assigned readings and relate readings to in class work. Student attends all or nearly all course meetings.
B Student participates as above 75% of the time.
C Student does not volunteer, only responds when called upon; student’s responses demonstrate vague familiarity with course assignments. Student shows little attentiveness and engagement in classroom.
D Student never volunteers, cannot respond to direct questions, keeps silent during classroom discussions and unable to summarize course materials. Student is inattentive and disengaged in class.
F Student sits silently in class. Student is disengaged in class discussions and pursues in appropriate behaviors such as sleeping, using electronic devices, or doing other homework or talking and generally disrupting class.
Your WRITTEN WORK will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
A Demonstrates work of extraordinarily high quality; unusually thorough and comprehensive understanding of issues; presents a clearly identifiable thesis and supporting argument that demonstrates a cogent and creative development and support of ideas.
B Demonstrates work of high quality; reflects clearly organized and comprehensive understanding of issues; presents a substantive thesis and argument with evidence of development and support of ideas.
C Demonstrates work that minimally meets requirements set forward in assignment; reflects some organization and development of ideas, but develops argument in superficial or simplistic manner; may only address part of the assignment or be otherwise incomplete.
D Demonstrates work of poor quality which does not meet minimum requirements; demonstrates poor organization of ideas and/or inattention to development of ideas, grammar, spelling; treatment of material is superficial and/or simplistic; may indicate that student has not done class reading.
F Demonstrates work that does not meet any of the standards set above.
Grading
Assignment
|
Description
|
Due Date
|
% Of grade
|
|
Class
participation
|
Attendance, class contributions, leading
article discus- sions. Barring exceptional circumstances, students are
expected to attend all classes, complete the reading assignments, and
participate actively in every class.
THIS IS A SEMINAR
|
Ongoing
|
20%
|
|
Small Assignment #1 Ask-a-Curator! – What do
visitors want?
|
Ask-a-Curator is a worldwide question and
answer ses- sion, where interested members of the public can post questions
to museum and gallery curators via Twitter. Online post and class discussion.
|
Sept. 14 and
Sept. 20
|
5%
|
|
Small Assignment #2 Museum visitors and hot topics in From the Mixed-Up
Files of Mrs.
Basil E. Frankweiler
|
What do we know about museums, museum
visitors, and hot topics facing museums from this novel? Write a 500 word (2
double spaced pages). Writing assignment and class discussion.
|
Sept. 15 and
Sept. 20
|
5%
|
|
Assignment
#1
Hot Topics in museums
|
Discussion, summary, response and questions to hot top- ics related to museums headline
news. Pairs will be asked to assign readings, lead the class discussion (with
or without a ppt), and turn in a brief (500 word) sum- mary/response.
|
Ongoing
|
20%
|
|
Assignment
#2
What Visitors Want Visitor
Preference sur- vey at the DePaul Art Museum.
|
Develop and carry out an
exit survey with visitors to the DePaul Art Museum exhibit “On Space and
Place: Contemporary Art from Chicago, Los Angeles, Mexico City and Vancouver”.
As a class we will produce a final
report for the Director and staff at the
DPAM.
|
Nov.
|
30%
|
|
Small Assignment # 3 Museums in the Movies
|
Movie review and discussion of how museums
are pre- sented in the popular media. No more than 2 double- spaced pages.
|
Oct. 13
|
5%
|
|
Assignment #3 Muse- um
Ethnography Book Review
|
Write a 1000 word (4 double spaced pages).
|
Nov. 22
|
15%
|
|
Seminar Participation
The ability to participate in seminar discussions is an essential skill. Seminars will take a variety of forms including short presentations, debates, question and answer sessions with guest speakers, field trip, and open discussion. Emergency-related absences must be communicated to me via e-mail or phone BEFORE THE CLASS MEETS!
Unavoidable Realities
If you cannot complete an assignment on time for any reason, you are responsible for contacting me as soon as possible. Late assignments will be penalized for each day after the deadline. You are responsible for knowing all due dates on the syllabus. The final syllabus posted at the beginning of the term will include deadlines for all assignments: it is your responsibility to know when assignments are due. There will be no extra credit material. If you do not complete course work by term's end you will receive no credit for unfinished work.
The course will require students to develop and demonstrate core communication and quantitative skills; critical thinking; integration of knowledge; intellectual depth, breadth, and adaptability; understanding of society and culture; and ability to make informed value and ethical judgments.
Disability Accommodations
Students seeking disability-related accommodations are required to register with DePaul’s Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD), enabling you to access accommodations and support services to assist your success. There are two office locations: Loop Campus: Lewis Center #1420, 312-362-8002 and Lincoln Park Campus: Student Center #370, 773-325-1677. Students are also invited to contact me privately to discuss your challenges and how I may assist in facilitating the accommodations you will use in this course. This is best done early in the term and our conversation will remain confidential.
Course Policies
Email is the best way to contact me; I will respond within 24 hours during the week (not on week- ends). Please cultivate a professional persona when emailing.
“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” - Einstein
Plagiarism
Course Policies
Email is the best way to contact me; I will respond within 24 hours during the week (not on week- ends). Please cultivate a professional persona when emailing.
“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” - Einstein
Plagiarism
Just don’t do it! Plagiarism is literary theft and a betrayal of trust. The term is de- rived from the Latin word for kidnapper and re- fers to the act of signing one’s own name to words, phrases, or ideas that are the literary property of another. To avoid plagiarism, be sure to cite ALL references to ideas or words that originated in a mind other than your own, put direct quotations into quotation marks and cite them, and para- phrase responsibly. If you have questions about what constitutes plagiarism, ASK! A first offense will result in an F for the assignment. A second offense will result in an F for the course and a letter to the Dean of Students and to the chair of your major department stating that you failed for violation of DePaul’s Policy on Academic Integrity.
ALL major assignments must be submitted in order to pass this course.
Due-dates are deadlines, not suggestions. They are non- negotiable except in cases of documented medical or personal emergencies. Late assignments will lose half a letter grade per day.
Required texts and readings
-Various articles as assigned. Most of the assigned readings are available on the D2L site.
-E.L. Konigsburg (1968/2010) From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil
E. Frankweiler available on Kindle
-John H. Falk (2009) Identity and the Museum Visitor Experience. Left Coast Press.
ALL major assignments must be submitted in order to pass this course.
Due-dates are deadlines, not suggestions. They are non- negotiable except in cases of documented medical or personal emergencies. Late assignments will lose half a letter grade per day.
Required texts and readings
-Various articles as assigned. Most of the assigned readings are available on the D2L site.
-E.L. Konigsburg (1968/2010) From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil
E. Frankweiler available on Kindle
-John H. Falk (2009) Identity and the Museum Visitor Experience. Left Coast Press.
Subject to
Change – Flexibility is Key!
DATE
|
TOPICS
|
READINGS
|
FIELD TRIP/ ASSIGNMENT/
GUEST SPEAKER/VIDEO
|
WEEK 1
Sept. 8
|
INTRODUCTION THE WORLD OF MUSEUMS
NUTS AND BOLTS
|
We Love
Museums, Do they Love us Back, with Pinky and Kim. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaFb muEUdwI
|
|
WEEK 2
Sept. 13
|
WHAT IS A MUSEUM?
A brief
history of museums Anthropology and museums
|
A. Barker
(2010). Exhibiting Archaeology: Archaeology and Museums. Annual
Review of Anthropology 39: 293-308.
E.G. Burcaw, (1995). Museum
Defined. In Introduction to
Museum Work, pp. 3-13.
C.Colwell-Chanthaphonh
and S. Nash (2010). A Future for Museum Anthropology?
Museum Anthropology. 33(1): 1-6.
Richard Handler (1993). ‘The Anthropological Definition of the
Museum’ Museum Anthropology 17(1):
33-36.
|
Small
Assignment #1: Ask-a-curator on Twitter
SEPT 14
|
WEEK 2
Sept. 15
|
MUSEUM
VISITORS AND HOT TOPICS
|
E.L.
Konigsburg (1968). The From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E.
|
Frankweiler. http://mentalfloss.com/article/60600/ 17-fun-facts-about-mixed-files-mrs- basil-e-frankweiler
V.
Zimmerman (2015). The Curating Child: Runaways and Museums in Children’s
Fiction. The Lion and the Unicorn 39(1):42-62.
|
hot topics in From the Mixed- Up Files of Mrs.
Basil E. Frankweiler
DUE Sept. 20
|
||
WEEK 3
Sept. 20
|
MUSEUMS AND PEOPLE.
Why do
people visit? How do they use museums?
Different
museums, different museum goers?
|
J. Appleton (2007). Museums for ‘The People’? In Museums and Their
Communities,
S. Watson editor, pp. 114- 126.
R. Boast
(2011). Neocolonial Collaboration: Museum as Contact Zone Revisited. Museum Anthropology 34 (1): 56-70.
J.
Clifford (1997). Museum as Contact Zones. In Representing the Nation: A
Reader. Histories, heritage and museums, D. Boswell and J. Evans, editor,
pp. 435-457.
Falk (2009) Chapter 1
S. Watson
(2007). Introduction: Museums and their Communities. In Museums and
Their Communities, S. Watson, editor, pp. 1-23.
|
Class discussion on Ask-a-Curator and The From the Mixed- Up Files of
Mrs. Basil
E. Frankweiler
|
WEEK 3
Sept. 22
|
MUSEUMS IN THE
PUBLIC GAZE
|
Falk (2009) Chapters 2-4
S.
Greenblatt (1991). ‘Resonance and Wonder’
in Karp and Lavine, eds. Exhibiting Cultures: The Poetics and Politics of Museum Display. Smithsonian Institution Press, 42-57.
J. Terrell
(1991). Disneyland and the Future of Museum Anthropology. American Anthropologist 93(1): 149- 153.
|
|
WEEK 4
Sept. 27
|
ASK-A-CURATOR OR DIRECTOR – WHAT VISITORS WANT?
WHAT IS A CURATOR?
What do they do? Who are they?
What kind of
educational background do they have?
|
C.V. Horie (1986). Who is a Curator? The International
Journal of Museum Management and Curatorship 5: 267- 272.
S. Moser
(2010). The Devil is in the Detail: Museum display and the curation of
knowledge. Museum Anthropology. 33(1): 22-33.
J. Petrov
(2012). Cross-Purposes: Museum Display and Material Culture. CrossCurrents 62: 219-234.
|
Meet Julie Rodrigues Widholm, Director of DPAM
|
|
Visit to the
DePaul Art Museum
|
|||
WEEK 4
Sept. 29
|
HOT TOPIC #1 – SHOULD THEY STAY OR SHOULD THEY GO?
The Parthenon Marbles – what people want in
Greece, the UK, the world??
|
To Be Assigned
|
|
WEEK 5
Oct. 4
|
VISITOR PREFERENCE SURVEY PREPARATION
1.
The cost of visiting a museum
2. Level of education
3.
Contents of the exhibition
(art matters)
4.
Building design (Pinky and Kim)
5. Services (catering, museum
shop, customer friendliness)
6.
Marketing &
Communication
7. Past visits?
|
Falk (2009) Chapters 5-11
M.K. Scott
(2012). Engaging with Pasts in the Present: Curators, Communities, and
Exhibition Practice. Museum Anthropology 35(1): 1-9.
DPAM visitor survey prep
|
Designing the survey
|
WEEK 5
Oct. 6
|
VISITOR PREFERENCE SURVEY PREPARATION
|
D2L readings
|
Tweaking the survey
|
WEEK 6
Oct. 11
|
HOT TOPIC #2 – EXHIBITING CONTROVERSY – PLEASING EVERYONE OR NO ONE?
National African American Museum
|
To Be Assigned
|
|
WEEK 6
Oct. 13
|
ASK-A-CURATOR – WHAT VISITORS WANT
|
Meet Dr. Emily Teeter
Curator at the Oriental Institute
Small
Assignment #3: Museums in the Movies (documentary or feature film)
DUE OCT 13
|
|
WEEK 7
Oct. 18
|
VISITOR PREFERENCE SURVEY
|
Carrying out the survey
|
|
WEEK 7
Oct. 20
|
HOT TOPIC #3 – BUYING AND SELLING
|
To Be Assigned
|
THE PAST?
WHO PAYS? MUSEUMS AND
FUNDING
Acquisitions Deaccessioning Illinois State
Museum Closure Crowdsourcing for exhibits (Diorama at the Field, Space gear
at the Smithsonian) St. Louis Art Museum The Detroit Fine Arts Museum
Northampton Egyptian Statue
|
|||
WEEK 8
Oct. 25
|
ASK-A-CURATOR?
|
Charles L. Souvay
Cuneiform Tablets Collection Finding Aid.
|
Meet with
Andrew Rea and Jamie Nelson, DePaul Special Collections Librarians. Visit the
Cuneiform Collection at the DePaul Library.
|
WEEK 8
Oct. 27
|
HOT TOPIC #4 – MUSEUMS AND WAR
Isis and Museums Protecting Museums in
times of war: Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan
|
To Be Assigned
|
|
WEEK 9
Nov. 1
|
HOT TOPIC #5 – GIVING THINGS BACK
Sotheby’s Norton Simon Museum and Cambodia
|
To Be Assigned
|
|
WEEK 9
Nov. 3
|
HOT TOPIC #6 – REPRESENTING PEOPLE IN MUSEUMS
Displaying humans – good or bad?
Body Worlds Spitalfields
|
To Be Assigned
|
|
WEEK 10
Nov. 8
|
VISITOR PREFERENCE SURVEY WORKSHOP AND REPORT WRITE UP
|
Falk (2009) Chapters 5-11
M.K. Scott
(2012). Engaging with Pasts in the Present: Curators, Communities, and
Exhibition Practice. Museum Anthropology 35(1): 1-9.
|
Assessing
the Survey Class project
|
WEEK 10
Nov. 10
|
HOT TOPIC #7 –
|
VISITOR PREFERENCE SURVEY DUE NOV. 10
|
WEEK 11
Nov. 15
|
VISITOR PREFERENCE SURVEY WORKSHOP AND REPORT WRITE UP MUSEUM ETHNOGRAPHY
|
FINAL PROJECT
|
DUE NOV. 22 AT 4:00PM IN D2L DROPBOX
|
SMALL ASSIGNMENT #1: ASK-A-CURATOR
DUE – September 14, 2016
Ask-a-Curator is a worldwide question and answer session, where interested members of the public can post questions to museum and gallery curators via Twitter. Of course, you can ask museums question via Twitter at any time, but what makes it special is that curators will be answering in real time and that so many curators are taking part at once. This year, over 500 museums from over 30 different countries have signed up to take part.
Your Mission:
Check the list of participating museum curators (http://www.mardixon.com/wordpress/askacurator- who-to-ask/) do some background research on your curator/museum and think of a question to pose via twitter (that means a question of 140 characters) on September 14, 2016. The question could be related to visitors to museums and what they want. Storify or do a screen capture of the question and answer and post in D2L dropbox. Be sure to use #ANT374 in the tweet. On TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 20 we will go over the various questions and responses.
SMALL ASSIGNMENT #2 FROM THE MIXED- UP FILES OF MRS. BASIL E. FRANKWEILER
DUE – Tuesday September 20
Museum visitors and hot topics in E.L. Konigsburg (1968) From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
• What do we know about museums, museum visitors, and hot topics facing museums from this novel?
• Write a 500 word (2 double spaced pages).
• Writing assignment and class discussion (TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 20).
ASSIGNMENT #1: Hot Topics in Museums! Assigning class reading and leading discussion
DUE – Ongoing
Get a partner!
Each group will choose one of the Hot Topics in Museums. The week before the relevant class groups will post in D2L their topic materials.
Get a partner!
Each group will choose one of the Hot Topics in Museums. The week before the relevant class groups will post in D2L their topic materials.
-Link or pdf of the hot topic news item (or website)
-Link or pdf of an associated article for the class to read and discuss.
Each group will present their topic with a ppt presentation covering the topic.
• What is the hot topic and why is it relevant to the class?
• What is the main issue related to museums raised in the article/news piece?
• Was a particular point of view taken? How was it legitimated or justified?
• State something critical but constructive about the reading. Do you think that the issue being covered is important, controversial, worthy of attention? Do you agree with the author? If so, how? If not, why not? Did anything bother you about it? Was there, in your opinion, something missing? What would have made it “better”? What is a possible “next step”?
• 2-3 questions that you think would be good for generating class discussion.
Potential Current Event Topics:
▪ Detroit Institute of Arts
▪ Isis and Museums – Saving the past by buying (see Jim Cuno/ Gary Vikan)
▪ St. Louis Art Museum - Ka Nefer Nefer Mummy Mask Case
▪ Northampton Museum Sekhemka Sale Controversy
▪ Deaccessioning
▪ Display of Human Remains
▪ Ai Wei Wei
▪ Native Culture on display (the Ancient One)
SMALL ASSIGNMENT # 3: MUSEUMS AND THE MOVIES REVIEW
DUE – October 13, 2016
ASSIGNMENT # 3 Museum Ethnography Book Review DUE – November 23, 2016
Why Write an Academic Book Review?
The idea of a professional book review is to briefly summarize the ideas of the book, but mainly to give your opinion about the book’s merits – it is a critical analysis of the book. Just like in the literature critique assignment, ‘critical’ does not imply that you are going to be mean or harsh in your review. It means that you are going to evaluate objectively whether the author(s) have fulfilled their objectives in the book, and whether they have used persuasive and unbiased evidence to support their claims. Did you find the book engaging? Persuasive? Did you agree with it? Did you enjoy it? Would you recommend it to others? What is the intended audience of the book? Does it succeed in reaching this audience? Take particular note of the title (does the book deliver what the title suggests it is going to deliver?), the table of contents (does the book cover all the ground it says it will?), the preface (often the richest source of information about the book), and the index (is it accurate, broad, deep?).
While you are reading the book, take notes about the following issues:
• What is the author’s main goal in writing this book? (Are you convinced of their position on a controversy? Explain the background of an event? Raise awareness of a particular issue?
• What are the author’s main points?
• What kind of evidence does the author provide to make his or her points? How convincing is this evidence?
• Is the book well written? (Easily understandable? Good style?)
• What group of readers would find this book most useful (Lay people? Students? Experts in the area?)
Classic Book Review Structure
1) Introduction (one or two paragraphs)
• Title including complete bibliographic citation for the work (i.e., title in full, author, place, publisher, date of publication, edition statement, pages, special features [maps, color plates, etc.], price, and ISBN.
• Brief overview of the theme, purpose and your evaluation.
• One paragraph identifying the thesis, and whether the author achieves the stated purpose of the book.
2) Summary of the content (about two pages)
• Brief summary of the key points of each chapter or group of chapters
• Paraphrase the information, but use a short quote when appropriate
3) Evaluation and conclusion (about one page)
• One paragraph on the book’s strengths.
• One paragraph on the book’s weaknesses.
• One paragraph on your assessment of the book’s strengths and weaknesses.
• Give your opinion about the book. Is the book easy to read or confusing? Is the book interesting, entertaining, instructive? Does the author support his arguments well? What are the book’s greatest strengths and weaknesses? Who would you recommend the book to?
Some questions to keep in mind as you are reading:
• What is the book’s argument?
• Does the book do what it says it is going to do?
• Is the book a contribution to the field or discipline?
• Does the book relate to a current debate or trend in the field and if so, how?
• What is the theoretical lineage or school of thought out of which the book rises?
• Is the book well-written?
• What are the books terms and are they defined?
• How accurate is the information (e.g., the footnotes, bibliography, dates)?
•![]()
Who would benefit from reading this book?
• How does the book compare to other books in the field?
Making a Plan
1,000 words, as you can say a fair amount in 1,000 words without getting bogged down. Some say a review should be written in a month: two weeks reading the book, one week planning your review, and one week writing it. DUE NOVEMBER 23!!
Avoiding Five Common Pitfalls
1. Evaluate the text, don’t just summarize it. While a succinct restatement of the text’s points is important, part of writing a book review is making a judgment. Is the book a contribution to the field? Does it add to our knowledge? Should this book be read and by whom? One needn’t be negative to evaluate; for instance, explaining how a text relates to current debates in the field is a form of evaluation.
2. Do not cover everything in the book. In other words, don’t use the table of contents as a structuring principle for your review. Try to organize your review around the book’s argument or your argument about the book.
3. Judge the book by its intentions not yours. Don’t criticize the author for failing to write the book you think that he or she should have written. As John Updike puts it, “Do not imagine yourself the caretaker of any tradition, an enforcer of any party standards, a warrior in any ideological battle, a corrections officer of any kind.”
-Link or pdf of an associated article for the class to read and discuss.
Each group will present their topic with a ppt presentation covering the topic.
• What is the hot topic and why is it relevant to the class?
• What is the main issue related to museums raised in the article/news piece?
• Was a particular point of view taken? How was it legitimated or justified?
• State something critical but constructive about the reading. Do you think that the issue being covered is important, controversial, worthy of attention? Do you agree with the author? If so, how? If not, why not? Did anything bother you about it? Was there, in your opinion, something missing? What would have made it “better”? What is a possible “next step”?
• 2-3 questions that you think would be good for generating class discussion.
Potential Current Event Topics:
▪ Detroit Institute of Arts
▪ Isis and Museums – Saving the past by buying (see Jim Cuno/ Gary Vikan)
▪ St. Louis Art Museum - Ka Nefer Nefer Mummy Mask Case
▪ Northampton Museum Sekhemka Sale Controversy
▪ Deaccessioning
▪ Display of Human Remains
▪ Ai Wei Wei
▪ Native Culture on display (the Ancient One)
SMALL ASSIGNMENT # 3: MUSEUMS AND THE MOVIES REVIEW
DUE – October 13, 2016
Assignment
#3
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Reviewing a museum movie |
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Type
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Individual assignment and class discussion
|
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DUE
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October 13, 2016
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Movies
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Night at the Museum I, II or III, Museum Hours, The Thomas Crowne Affair, Woman in Gold, The Monuments Men, The Relic, The Great Museum, One of Our |
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What to do
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How To Write a Movie Review
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What to do
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Before watching, get a notepad to take notes
Movies are long, and you can easily forget details
or even big aspects of the movie. Taking notes really helps, because it
allows you to jot down things you notice that you can later come back to in
your review. This does not mean that you should be putting all of your
attention toward taking notes. You should just take a brief, quick
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What to do
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Think about
the following questions when watching
1.
What are some of the very obvious stereotypes about museums in the film?
2.
What staff members are evident in the film, and what is their role in
the museum? We are focusing on curators and curatorial authority in the class
so be sure to keep an eye on the
role of the curator.
3. What inaccuracies do you
notice (examples: things in the wrong time or place)?
4. Where are issues of gender
and race evident in the film?
5.
What is the nature of this museum in its relationship to community?
6.
What other observations would you make about the film?
7. Is this film good or bad
for the museum world? Why?
8.
How are objects used to represent people, places and time periods?
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What to do
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After you
see the movie and think about the questions, formulate a specific opinion in
one sentence
Your job is to give an opinion of the movie and to
focus on the question “how are museums
and the world of museums portrayed to the public?” You want to have a specific thesis to drive your
critique – this should focus on an assessment of the mission of the museum.
Try to find specific examples that form the foundation of your review.
|
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Begin writing your review
Keep your writing clear
and easy to understand. It is good to be very explanatory when writing a
review, and careful to keep things simple.
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Create a good lead
You want your reader to be interested in what you
have to say. Grab them in that first or “lead” paragraph in one of several
ways: Start with a great quote from the movie, and explain how it reflects
the movie; refer to the reputation of the actor or director and compare it to
how he or she did in this movie; compare this movie to another well- known
film in a few sentences or two; explain what your expectation was, and then
if it was fulfilled or not. Then end that first paragraph with your opinion
statement.
|
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Critique the
movie
Now that you have explained the general events,
the reader has an idea of the movie and its general theme. You can now begin
to add your critique. It is a good idea when critiquing to present both
information, and your opinion. Explain the reasons for all of your critique,
and provide examples. For example, if you did not like a certain
|
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Read through your review
Make sure your writing is clear, complete,
interesting, and is written in a general viewpoint. Make sure that there are
no factual errors, and check for any spelling or grammar mistakes. These may
seem minor and unimportant, but they actually are very important to your
reader, as they may not trust your review if they see you have misspelled a
lot of words, or contradict yourself.
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Caution Quick Tips
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Do not spend too much time
summarizing the plot. Do not give away key moments!
Make sure to have a good
strong main opinion. Comment on specific details to support your opinion.
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Format
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Bring a copy of the paper to class October
13, 2016 for class discussion. The
paper should be
2-3- double spaced page essay addressing the questions. You should include a
reference section and cite ALL sources if used. Papers are graded on quality
not quantity; please provide as much information that is needed to cover your
topic.
|
ASSIGNMENT # 3 Museum Ethnography Book Review DUE – November 23, 2016
Why Write an Academic Book Review?
The idea of a professional book review is to briefly summarize the ideas of the book, but mainly to give your opinion about the book’s merits – it is a critical analysis of the book. Just like in the literature critique assignment, ‘critical’ does not imply that you are going to be mean or harsh in your review. It means that you are going to evaluate objectively whether the author(s) have fulfilled their objectives in the book, and whether they have used persuasive and unbiased evidence to support their claims. Did you find the book engaging? Persuasive? Did you agree with it? Did you enjoy it? Would you recommend it to others? What is the intended audience of the book? Does it succeed in reaching this audience? Take particular note of the title (does the book deliver what the title suggests it is going to deliver?), the table of contents (does the book cover all the ground it says it will?), the preface (often the richest source of information about the book), and the index (is it accurate, broad, deep?).
While you are reading the book, take notes about the following issues:
• What is the author’s main goal in writing this book? (Are you convinced of their position on a controversy? Explain the background of an event? Raise awareness of a particular issue?
• What are the author’s main points?
• What kind of evidence does the author provide to make his or her points? How convincing is this evidence?
• Is the book well written? (Easily understandable? Good style?)
• What group of readers would find this book most useful (Lay people? Students? Experts in the area?)
Classic Book Review Structure
1) Introduction (one or two paragraphs)
• Title including complete bibliographic citation for the work (i.e., title in full, author, place, publisher, date of publication, edition statement, pages, special features [maps, color plates, etc.], price, and ISBN.
• Brief overview of the theme, purpose and your evaluation.
• One paragraph identifying the thesis, and whether the author achieves the stated purpose of the book.
2) Summary of the content (about two pages)
• Brief summary of the key points of each chapter or group of chapters
• Paraphrase the information, but use a short quote when appropriate
3) Evaluation and conclusion (about one page)
• One paragraph on the book’s strengths.
• One paragraph on the book’s weaknesses.
• One paragraph on your assessment of the book’s strengths and weaknesses.
• Give your opinion about the book. Is the book easy to read or confusing? Is the book interesting, entertaining, instructive? Does the author support his arguments well? What are the book’s greatest strengths and weaknesses? Who would you recommend the book to?
Some questions to keep in mind as you are reading:
• What is the book’s argument?
• Does the book do what it says it is going to do?
• Is the book a contribution to the field or discipline?
• Does the book relate to a current debate or trend in the field and if so, how?
• What is the theoretical lineage or school of thought out of which the book rises?
• Is the book well-written?
• What are the books terms and are they defined?
• How accurate is the information (e.g., the footnotes, bibliography, dates)?
•
• How does the book compare to other books in the field?
Making a Plan
1,000 words, as you can say a fair amount in 1,000 words without getting bogged down. Some say a review should be written in a month: two weeks reading the book, one week planning your review, and one week writing it. DUE NOVEMBER 23!!
Avoiding Five Common Pitfalls
1. Evaluate the text, don’t just summarize it. While a succinct restatement of the text’s points is important, part of writing a book review is making a judgment. Is the book a contribution to the field? Does it add to our knowledge? Should this book be read and by whom? One needn’t be negative to evaluate; for instance, explaining how a text relates to current debates in the field is a form of evaluation.
2. Do not cover everything in the book. In other words, don’t use the table of contents as a structuring principle for your review. Try to organize your review around the book’s argument or your argument about the book.
3. Judge the book by its intentions not yours. Don’t criticize the author for failing to write the book you think that he or she should have written. As John Updike puts it, “Do not imagine yourself the caretaker of any tradition, an enforcer of any party standards, a warrior in any ideological battle, a corrections officer of any kind.”
4. Likewise, don’t spend too much time focusing on gaps. Since a book is only 200 to 500 pages, it cannot possibly address the richness of any topic. For this reason, the most common criticism in any review is that the book doesn’t address some part of the topic.
5. Don’t use too many quotes from the book. It is best to paraphrase or use short telling quotes within sentences.
Polishing the Book Review
After you’ve completed your review, be sure to proofread it carefully for errors and typos. Double-check your bibliographic heading—author, title, publisher—for accuracy and correct spelling as well.
Choosing a Museum Ethnography
• Ames, Michael (1992) Cannibal Tours and Glass Boxes. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.
• Anderson, John (2013). Art Held Hostage: The Battle over the Barnes Collection. W. W. Norton & Company.
• Boser, Ulrich (2010) The Gardner Heist: The True Story of the World's Largest Unsolved Art Theft. Harper Paperbacks.
• Bunzl, Matti (2014) In Search of a Lost Avant- Garde. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
• Cuno, James (2011) Museums Matter. In Praise of the Encyclopedic Museum. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
• Felch, Jason and Ralph Frammolino (2011) Chasing Aphrodite: The Hunt for Looted Antiquities at the World's Richest Museum. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
• Gable, Eric (2010) Anthropology and Egalitarianism: Ethnographic Encounters from Monticello to Guinea-Bissau. Indiana University Press.
• Handler, Richard and Eric Gable (1997) The New History in an Old Museum: Creating the Past at Colonial Williamsburg. Chapel Hill, NC: Duke University Press.
• Gross, Michael (2010) Rogues' Gallery: The Secret Story of the Lust, Lies, Greed, and Betrayals That Made the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: Broadway Books.
• Hoving, Thomas, (1981) King of the Confessors. New York: Simon & Schuster.
• Hoving, Thomas (1993), Making the Mummies Dance, Inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: Simon & Schuster.
• Linenthal, Edward T. (2001) Preserving Memory: The Struggle to Create America's Holocaust Museum.
• Linenthal, Edward T, and Tom Engelhardt (eds.) (1996) History Wars: The Enola Gay and Other Battles for the American Past.
• Nicholas, Lynn (1995). The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe's Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War. Vintage.
• Shannon, Jennifer A. (2015) Our Lives: Collaboration, Native Voice, and the Making of the National Museum of the American Indian. School for Advanced Research Resident Scholar Book.
• Thornton, Sarah (2008) Seven Days in the Art World. Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
• Tyburczy, Jennifer (2016) Sex Museums: The Politics and Performance of Display. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
• Watson, Peter (2007) The Medici Conspiracy: The Illicit Journey of Looted Antiquities-- From Italy's Tomb Raiders to the World's Greatest Museum. Public Affairs.
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