Muse 21

To Museum Studies or Not to Museum Studies?

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 23:48:00 -0400

With increased discussion throughout the field on the validity of museum studies programs, Muse21 provides the following 21 List: To Museum Studies or Not to Museum Studies? Sources provided by the author of this blog, Kate Laurel Burgess-Mac Intosh, Leslie Howard, and Zerah Jakub. All three are Chairs of the New England Museum Association’s Young and Emerging Museum Professionals Professional Affinity Group.

1. Tips for Picking a Graduate Program Fit for You

By Leslie Madsen-Brooks, Ph.D.

Museum Blogging website, November 23, 2011

http://museumblogging.com/2011/11/23/how-to-pick-a-good-graduate-program/

2. Increased Focus on Employability in Academic Courses

By Geraldine Kendall and Patrick Steel

Museums Association, UK, March 21, 2012

http://www.museumsassociation.org/news/21032012-university-courses

3. Landing a Job in the Museum of the Future

By Elizabeth Merritt

Center for the Future of Museums Blog, American Association of Museums, August 4, 2011

http://futureofmuseums.blogspot.com/2011/08/landing-job-in-museum-of-future.html

4. Current Events: Museum Studies Graduate Programs

By Leslie Howard

EMP: A Blog, American Association of Museums Emerging Museum Professionals Blog, January 11, 2012

http://emergingprofessionals.wordpress.com/2012/01/11/current-events-museum-studies-graduate-programs/

5. The Rise of Museum Studies: Are the Rest of Us Esoteric Dinosaurs?

MuseoBlogger Blog, January 14, 2011

http://museoblogger.blogspot.com/2011/01/rise-of-museum-studies-are-rest-of-us.html

6. Non-Grad School Education Options

By Caitlin Louise Kreiman Lill

EMP: A Blog, American Association of Museums Emerging Museum Professionals Blog, January 13, 2012

http://emergingprofessionals.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/non-grad-school-educations-options/

7. Museum Studies as Soft Diplomacy: From Berkley to Abu Dhabi

By Marjorie Schwarzer

Museum, American Association of Museums, July-August 2011

http://www.aam-us.org/pubs/upload/abudhabi.pdf

8. The Workforce of the Future Starts Now

By Elizabeth Merritt

Center for the Future of Museums Blog, American Association of Museums, November 3, 2011

http://futureofmuseums.blogspot.com/2011/11/workforce-of-future-starts-now.html

9. More on the Future of Museum Studies

By Elizabeth Merritt

Center for the Future of Museums Blog, American Association of Museums, August 7, 2009

http://futureofmuseums.blogspot.com/2009/08/more-on-future-of-museum-studies.html

10. UPDATED: My Own Take on “More on the Future of Museum Studies”

By Megan Blankens

MJ Writes Blog, August 7, 2009

http://mjwrites.wordpress.com/2009/08/07/my-own-take-on-more-on-the-future-of-museum-studies/

11. Where Are Museum Studies Graduate Programs Going Wrong?

By Colleen Dilenschneider

Know Your Own Bone Blog, August 12, 2009

http://colleendilen.com/2009/08/12/where-are-museum-studies-graduate-programs-going-wrong/

12. Questioning Assumptions: the Future of Education

By Elizabeth Merritt

Center for the Future of Museums Blog, American Association of Museums, August 12, 2009

http://futureofmuseums.blogspot.com/2009/08/questioning-assumptions-future-of.html

13. Where the Boys Aren’t

By Elizabeth Merritt

Center for the Future of Museums Blog, American Association of Museums, August 11, 2009

http://futureofmuseums.blogspot.com/2009/08/where-boys-arent.html

14. The Lost Generation

By Elizabeth Merritt

Center for the Future of Museums Blog, American Association of Museums, April 1, 2009

http://futureofmuseums.blogspot.com/2009/04/lost-generation.html

15. Museum Professional Training and Education: Results from a Web-Based Survey

By Ron M. Potvin

John Nicholas Brown Center at Brown University, Summer 2007

http://www.brown.edu/Research/JNBC/presentations_papers/documents/R.Potvin_Museum_Professional_Training.pdf

16. Warning: Museum Graduate Programs Spawn Legions of Zombies!

By Nina Simon

Museum 2.0 Blog, April 23, 2007

http://museumtwo.blogspot.com/2007/04/warning-museum-graduate-programs-spawn.html

17. Museums Studies at a Crossroads

By Marjorie Schwarzer

Museum magazine, American Association of Museums, January-February 2012

18. Back to School: Museum Studies Programs During Tough Times

By James Yasko

Museum magazine, American Association of Museums, January-February 2012

19. Museum Studies: An Anthology of Contexts

Edited by Bettina Messias Carbonell

Blackwell Publishing, 2004

20. Museum Studies: Information for Museum Professionals & Scholars

The Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies (SCEMS), Smithsonian Institution

http://museumstudies.si.edu/index.html

21. Journal of Museum Studies

E-Journal of the Museum Studies Program, Oklahoma University

http://www.ou.edu/content/cls/jms.html

Preparing Proposals for Conference Sessions

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:23:00 -0500

Are you conference proposal ready? Do you have a unique viewpoint on an issue, idea, or concept that you think will benefit the field? What should you be aware of before starting your proposal, to make for the strongest presentation, and to further not only your topic, but yourself as a trusted and reliable source on your topic? The following are twenty-one questions to consider and contemplate prior to writing your proposal, developed over the course of over seven years in the museum field, and more than four years of experience proposing, presenting, and participating in conferences of both local and national significance.

1. Do you have an issue, idea, or concept that needs to be shared, addressed, or debated by your colleagues in the conference format?

2. Is your issue, idea, or concept timely and relevant?

3. Does your issue, idea, or concept particularly mesh with the theme of a particular conference?

4. Are you familiar with other colleagues, friends, or those active in the field that are willing to support your idea, develop it further, and present at said conference? Are you willing to contact individuals who you do not have a preexisting relationship with to ensure the strongest session panel?

5. Are you willing to share your issue, idea, or concept online during the development stages of your proposal, so as to include and incorporate feedback or specialists you had not previously considered or were familiar with?

6. Who is the audience for your proposed session? Are they emerging, mid-career, or seasoned professionals? Those with little experience with your topic, or those who are experts looking for fresh opinions or ideas? Who will benefit most from your session (disciplines could include, but are not limited to: curators, conservators, exhibition designers, educators, administration, directors or board members)? What types of museums will find interest in your session (art museums, history museums, historic sites and historic houses, science museums or centers, academic museums, children’s museums)?

7. What are the educational outcomes of your proposed session? Can you answer the question: “when someone leaves this session, they will know x/will be able to x/will be able to improve x/will bring x back to their site…”?

8. Are you comfortable speaking to a large group of people? If not, what will your role in the session be? Will you be a facilitator and chair for the session?

9. Do you know a seasoned professional who would be willing to co-chair your session?

10. Can you think of creative ways to engage your audience, beyond merely utilizing Powerpoint presentations (recently, interesting sessions have included games, working in small groups to answer questions, and going as far as to turn a session into a ‘game show’)?

11. Do you know someone with prior experience proposing sessions and presenting that will help you craft your proposal, recruit presenters, and will advocate for you during the approval process?

12. Are there opportunities for you to present locally, then transition to larger, national or international stages?

13. Are there opportunities to participate in poster sessions, student sessions, or emerging professional formats to gain first-hand experience before transitioning to a full-on session proposal?

14. Are you able to afford all aspects of attending and presenting at the conference? Are there scholarship opportunities? Can you share a room, carpool, or discover other ways to share the expenses of attending and participating? Will you be able to take time off from your job, school, and other commitments to attend the conference? Would you be able to secure partial or complete funding from your employer, your college/university, or from other sources?

15. Does your issue, idea, or concept overlap with other fields? Are there specialists from outside the museum field that would make your session stronger, more diversified, and/or more appealing to museum practitioners?

16. Is your concept transitory or is it something that will not hugely evolve between when you propose your session, and when you present? Do you love your session idea enough to live with it for over a year or more? Are there spin-offs to your topic which you are familiar and well-versed within? Are you able to keep up with the evolution of your topic?

17. What will you gain professionally from presenting at said conference? Do those gains justify the work, expense, and time to foster a creative, strong, and well-presented session?

18. Is aligning yourself with the topic of your session proposal, your panelists, and the conference an appropriate and strategic career move?

19. Who is your competition on this topic, and how can you ensure your competitive edge?

20. Who do you know within the conference’s supporting institution, and are their ways to leverage those relationships? Can they help you, or direct you to others who can? Are they available to answer questions, or provide feedback as you craft your proposal?

21. Are you comfortable in stressful situations and on deadline? Do you have strong communications, time and group management skills? Are you a leader?

What is Pinterest, and why should museums care?

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:52:00 -0500

Pinterest is a social network for creative types looking to organize their thoughts and inspiration. Frequently compared to a pin-up or bulletin board, Pinterest has been called a ‘visual bookmarking tool.’ In simpler terms, Pinterest can fulfill the role of a scrapbook, inspiration book or sketchbook, recipe boxes, and/or clipping books, all in a simplistic, organized, visual, and digital format. A user can create and curate their own boards, or with added permission, can create group boards around various topics of interest.

Why should museums care about Pinterest? It will definitely change the way some web-savvy individuals will expect to interact with information, images, and stories on the web. It also opens another channel for conversation and inspiration from a museum’s community, the people who are inherently interested in what you are doing. It additionally has endless potential as a crowdsourcing, or crowd curating, tool, and can be utilized in exhibition planning, with both staff and the public weighing in.

All the possibilities of Pinterest’s are not yet realized, but the following 21 List provides resources on what Pinterest is, some of its most interesting and unique users, and interesting ways nonprofits and related industries are utilizing the new platform.

1. If You’ve Never Heard of Pinterest, You’re a Big Dork

By Marshall Kirkpatrick

Read, Write, Web

September 16, 2011

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/if_youve_never_heard_of_pinterest_youre_a_big_dork.php

2. Pinterest: A Beginner’s Guide to the Hot New Social Network

By Rob Lammle

Mashable

December 26, 2011

http://mashable.com/2011/12/26/pinterest-beginners-guide/

3. Museums and Pinterest: An Introduction

By Jenni Fuchs