Museum Studies

Academics / College Catalog / Departments and Programs / Museum Studies

Faculty

Linda Horwitz

Professor of Communication
Chair of Museum Studies

Rebecca Goldberg

Lecturer in Art & Director of the Gallery

Rebecca Graff

Associate Professor of Anthropology

Minor in Museum Studies

No major is currently available.

Requirements for the Museum Studies Minor

6 courses from at least 3 departments: a minimum of 2 courses should be at the 300-level or above. An internship or independent study is strongly recommended. A grade of C- or better must be earned in all courses counted toward the minor. Courses taken Pass-NoPass may count towards the minor in Museum Studies, as long as the grade originally earned in the class is “C-” or better.

Core Courses (Two of the following from two different departments)

ARTH 239: Museum Histories and Practices
COMM 212: Visual Rhetoric
SOAN 215 Archaeological Field Methods or
SOAN 216 Introduction to Archaeology

Four Electives chosen from among

ARTH 201: Writing Art Criticism
ARTH 204: Artmaking in Chicago
ARTH 238: Curating a College Collection (Prerequisite: ARTH 110)
ARTH 338: Contemporary Exhibition Practices (Prerequisite: ARTH 110)
ARTH 323: Monuments and Memory (Prerequisite: One Art History course)
ART 334: Installation (At least two prerequisites including Art 130, or Art 131, or Art 133 AND a Studio Art course from recommended list.)
CHEM 105 Chemistry of Art
COMM 212: Visual Rhetoric
COMM 388: Rhetoric and Public Memory
EDUC 210: Observing the Schooling Process
EDUC 215: Instructional Communication Theory and Practice
HIST 285: Public History
HIST 318: Chicago: History and Public Memory (Prerequisite: one course in American history, politics, African American Studies or American Studies, or permission of the instructor.)
HIST 368: Museums and Exhibitions (Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing, or permission of the instructor.)
RELG 355: Exhibiting Religion in the Museum
SOAN 215: Archaeological Field Methods
SOAN 216: Introduction to Archaeology
SOAN 225: Historic Artifact Analysis (Prerequisite: SOAN 205 OR SOAN 215 OR SOAN 220 OR consent of instructor.)
SOAN 318: Archaeology of the Contemporary (Prerequisite: SOAN 110 OR SOAN 216 OR SOAN 220 OR consent of instructor.)

An internship or independent study is strongly recommended

Internship for 1 or 2 credits at a local museum or other relevant institution.

Learning Outcomes

The expected Student Learning Outcomes for the Museum Studies Program are:

1. The Museum Studies minor will demonstrate a critical awareness of how museums communicate complex ideas to a general audience.

2. The Museum Studies minor will demonstrate understanding about the nature and work performed in Museums in a paper or presentation that directly evaluates key aspects of Museum operations, such as collection management, development, museum education, visitor services, etc.

3. The Museum Studies minor will demonstrate insight into the role of museums in culture, for example, as institutions embedded in historical contexts and as sites of cultural production.

4. The Museum Studies minor will demonstrate research skills that focus on objects or things preserved in Museum collections.