This course will study the art museum s history and status in our society today. Special consideration will be given to financial, legal and ethical issues that face art museums in our time. This course provides a historical and theoretical overview of museums and their exhibitions. Students attain an understanding of the social and historical development of the institution of the museum. Through critical readings and writings, they are able to analyze the fundamental assumptions of museums and exhibitions as a medium of and setting for a specific ideology.
Students gain in-depth knowledge through analysis of specific case studies.
The Poetics and Politics of Museum Display. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1991. Leichester University Press, 1996. Prentice Hall, 1992. See the Art History website for links to museum throughout the world.