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Museum Studies

Also see the Master of Liberal Arts in Museum Studies. Museum studies courses that count toward the Certificate in Management require proof of English proficiency.

Courselist

MUSE E-100 Introduction to Museum Studies

Fall term (10207) (Website) (Print View): Katherine Burton Jones, MA, Assistant Dean for Information Technology and Media Services, Harvard Divinity School. Shelley N. Monaghan, CMS, Consultant. Tuesday, Sept. 20, 5:30-7:30 pm, Emerson Hall, Room 108. 4 units. Noncredit and undergraduate credit $625, graduate credit $1,525. Online and on-campus options. See the Distance Education website. Lecture 1 video. Lecture 2 video.

Spring term (21989) (Website) (Print View): Sara Schechner, PhD, David P. Wheatland Curator of the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments, Harvard University. Shelley N. Monaghan, CMS, Consultant. Wednesday, Feb. 1, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 202. 4 units. Noncredit and undergraduate credit $550, graduate credit $1,450.

This course provides a behind-the-scenes view of museums from the people who are actively involved in their operation. Students learn about the history and objectives of various types of museums (art, natural history, science, historical, zoological) through panel discussions that involve museum directors, curators, conservators, collection managers, and exhibit designers. The focus is the rich and diverse resources of Harvard University's museums, but there also are guest lecturers from other local museums. The course is required for students planning to apply to the Master of Liberal Arts in Museum Studies, but is also appropriate for the avid museum goer who desires a more comprehensive understanding of how museums function.
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MUSE E-101 Graduate Research Methods and Scholarly Writing in Museum Studies
Graduate proseminar. 4 units. Graduate credit $1,575. Limited enrollment.
Students who do not have Harvard ID cards must purchase $100 special borrower's cards at Widener Library.

Fall term (12435) (Website) (Print View): Peter Justin Moon Schertz, PhD, Associate in the Classics, Harvard University and Kress Curatorial Fellow, Art of the Ancient World, Museum of Fine Arts. Monday, Sept. 19, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 204.

Spring term, section 1 (22244) (Syllabus) (Print View): Peter Justin Moon Schertz, PhD, Associate in the Classics, Harvard University and Kress Curatorial Fellow, Art of the Ancient World, Museum of Fine Arts. Tuesday, Jan. 31, 5:30-7:30 pm, Boylston Hall, Room 103.

Spring term, section 2 (22267) (Syllabus) (Print View): Mary Malloy, PhD, Associate, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University and Professor, Maritime Studies, Sea Education Association. Thursday, Feb. 2, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 212.

This proseminar explores the special research requirements of the museum professional, including tools needed for identifying and documenting collections, preparing background context for exhibits, and assembling information for grant proposals. We look at the preparation of bibliographies in a number of museum subject fields, including anthropology, art, history, and science. Prerequisite: MUSE E-100 and a satisfactory score on the EXPO E-25 placement test. In addition, at the first class meeting, students must complete a writing assignment that demonstrates graduate-level reading comprehension and ability to write coherent, logical arguments.
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MUSE E-105 Issues in Museum Management (22326)
(Website) (Print View)
David W. Ellis, PhD, President, Emeritus, Museum of Science, Boston. Anthony G. King, AM, Deputy Director, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute.
4 units. Graduate credit $1,450. Limited enrollment.
Monday, Jan. 30, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 202. Spring term

Museum administrators in all positions, and in fact all museum employees, face many issues including defining the mission of and planning for both new and existing institutions, financial management in a very competitive environment, finding and motivating skilled staff and volunteers, and attracting visitors with quality programs, exhibits, and services. This course uses a case approach to explore techniques used to address effectively issues in museum management, with the students learning from each other as well as from the instructors. Prerequisites: MUSE E-100, E-101, and two museum studies electives, or equivalent experience as a museum employee or volunteer.
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MUSE E-110 Museum Exhibition (20185)
(Website) (Print View)
Shelley N. Monaghan, CMS, Consultant.
4 units. Noncredit and undergraduate credit $550, graduate credit $1,450.
Thursday, Feb. 2, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 203. Spring term

This course explores the issues and processes involved in the conceptualization, planning, and design of exhibits in a variety of museum settings. Topics include the development of exhibition themes and educational goals, intellectual and physical accessibility, universal design, and exhibit evaluation methods. The course encourages students to develop creative communication and problem-solving skills through assignments, workshops, and field trips.
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MUSE E-115 Collections and Curation (12166)
(Syllabus) (Print View)
Carl A. Francis, PhD, Associate Curator of the Mineralogical Museum, Harvard University.
4 units. Noncredit and undergraduate credit $550, graduate credit $1,450.
Thursday, Sept. 22, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 103. Fall term

This course investigates the formation of collections and their use by museums for educational and research purposes. It also examines the role of those who care for collections. Topics addressed include acquisitions, cataloguing, documentation, ethics, interpretation, loans, registration, and research.
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MUSE E-120 Museum Education (12491)
(Syllabus) (Print View)
Roger Dell, MA, Instructor in Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education.
4 units. Noncredit and undergraduate credit $550, graduate credit $1,450.
Tuesday, Sept. 20, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 110. Fall term

This course is designed to introduce students to the basic tenets of teaching and learning in museums. The first part of the course examines how museums' initial educational roles evolved. The second part explores case studies of noteworthy museum education programs, including how audiences are built, evaluation is conducted, and individuals learn in the galleries. The last third of the course looks toward future museum education practices and issues. The course includes guest speakers and visits to local museums. Prerequisite: MUSE E-100 is strongly recommended.
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MUSE E-125 Preservation and Conservation of Museum Collections (22352)
(Syllabus) (Print View)
Vicky L. Kruckeberg, MS, Consultant, Director, Textile Conservation Center, American Textile History Museum.
4 units. Noncredit and undergraduate credit $550, graduate credit $1,450.
Monday, Jan. 30, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 106. Spring term

One of the central roles of the museum is to house, protect, and preserve objects for posterity, for study and enrichment through considered interpretation. This course includes discussion of the nature of common materials found in museum artifacts, basic assessment of an object's condition, factors that contribute to the deterioration of objects, long-term storage considerations, display and exhibit concerns, loan and transportation assessments, and pest management and disaster preparedness issues. Also covered are practical versus ideal conservation options as they relate to museums, historic homes, volunteer organizations, and other guardians of collections; ethical considerations related to the conservation of objects; and use of private versus in-house museum conservation services. Prerequisite: MUSE E-100 recommended.
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MUSE E-130 Museums and the Web (22382)
(Website) (Print View)
Katherine Burton Jones, MA, Assistant Dean for Information Technology and Media Services, Harvard Divinity School.
4 units. Noncredit and undergraduate credit $550, graduate credit $1,450.
Wednesday, Feb. 1, 5:30-7:30 pm, Boylston Hall, Room 105. Spring term

Technologies in the form of the Web and Internet have changed the way museums deliver information. In this course, we explore the ways in which museums use the Web to deliver content for educational programming and exhibitions as well as how the Web is used in marketing, public relations, and fundraising. We also take a look at the collections databases that museums rely on to provide object information for in-house use and public webspaces. It provides an in-depth look at the use of databases and websites to further the organization's mission. Topics include data models and data dictionaries, information standards and their use, the development of new media products, and issues of copyright and fair use. Prerequisite: MUSE E-100 or equivalent museum experience.
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MUSE E-135 The Historic House Museum (12597)
(Syllabus) (Print View)
Susan L. Porter, PhD, Research Manager, Historic New England/Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities and Scholar, Women's Studies Research Center, Brandeis University.
4 units. Noncredit and undergraduate credit $550, graduate credit $1,450.
Wednesday, Sept. 21, 7:35-9:35 pm, Sever Hall, Room 110. Fall term

This course looks at the many aspects of operating and maintaining a historic house museum. Topics covered include preservation and restoration, interpretation, staffing, governance, and funding. The course also focuses on various ways a house museum can be used as an educational resource in its community. Prerequisite: MUSE E-100.
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MUSE E-150/W The Role of Museums in History (12494)
(Syllabus) (Print View)
Mary Malloy, PhD, Associate, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University and Professor, Maritime Studies, Sea Education Association.
Writing-intensive course. 4 units. Noncredit and undergraduate credit $550, graduate credit $1,450.
Wednesday, Sept. 21, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 203. Optional graduate-credit sections to be arranged. Fall term

In the ancient world, a museum was a place where ideas were exchanged. Using that definition as a starting point, this course examines the intellectual life of museums beginning with concepts of collecting and cultural property in the medieval period. We look at how traders, pilgrims, and Crusaders perceived objects they brought back to Western Europe; how the organization of collections into taxonomic categories influenced science in the age of Enlightenment; how natural history, anthropology, and art museums contributed to the development of those subject fields; the gulf between the "learned societies" and the P. T. Barnums; how social changes in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries led to the rise of large public museums; and how museums are redefining themselves today as educational, social, and cultural institutions that may or may not need collections.
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