{"id":29633,"date":"2019-05-28T09:19:36","date_gmt":"2019-05-28T13:19:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=29633"},"modified":"2024-07-02T17:11:30","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T17:11:30","slug":"maymester-museum-studies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=29633","title":{"rendered":"Maymester: “Introduction to Museum Studies”"},"content":{"rendered":"

What\u2019s hidden inside the world\u2019s most famous\u00a0museums? A Maymester course on museum studies reveals the hidden artifacts and unseen decisions behind these institutions.<\/em><\/p>\n

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UNC students tour the Duke Homestead State Historic Site and Tobacco Museum as a part of their museum studies course. (photo by Johnny Andrews)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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This Maymester, students in Lyneise Williams\u2019 Introduction to Museum Studies course visited the Louvre, the British Museum and special exhibits around the world without ever leaving Chapel Hill.<\/p>\n

Using the Liquid Galaxy<\/a> in Davis Library, they studied the Mona Lisa, the Rosetta Stone and other artistic masterpieces on an immersive, seven-panel display. But they also saw the museums\u2019 little-known masterpieces, housed in the museums\u2019 back corners and basements.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking at how those spaces are arranged and who gets the prime real estate,\u201d Williams said. \u201cIn the front of the museums there tends to be classical Greek or European art, so we look at where things are situated and the narrative that gets told in the floorplans.\u201d<\/p>\n

The course is part of Maymester, an intensive semester of fast-paced courses offered by UNC Summer School<\/a> in May. “Introduction to Museum Studies” combines readings and field trips to expose students to the behind-the-scenes work of museums, including exhibit design and conservation.<\/p>\n

With only three weeks to lead students through a deep dive in museum studies, Williams has one central message to share: whether it\u2019s the Louvre or a small, local art gallery, museums are not designed without biases.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I go into a museum, I see a group of choices and selections made by a variety of people and presented to me,\u201d said Williams, an associate professor of art history who has worked in museums and galleries as a curator and educator for decades. \u201cI want students to know that they are only seeing the finished product.\u201d<\/p>\n

To understand the process behind curating and presenting an exhibition, students visited local museums, such as Carolina\u2019s own Ackland Art Museum<\/a> and the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, to watch how designers, curators, administrators and staff members bring exhibitions to life.<\/p>\n

Museum work isn\u2019t exactly as glamorous as it appears in Ocean\u2019s Eleven\u00a0<\/em>or Night at the Museum<\/em>, Williams said, and watching the installation process helps students see the decisions that lead to the final presentation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey need to see what\u2019s happening behind the scenes so they can understand how much of this is produced and constructed for visitors,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Senior philosophy student Tori Darden isn\u2019t planning on a career in museum studies \u2014 she\u2019s thinking more along the lines of becoming a congresswoman or Supreme Court justice \u2014 but she said the course has given her a greater appreciation and understanding of the museums she grew up visiting.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The class] is really busting down the frameworks I had around museums,\u201d Darden said. \u201cYes, it\u2019s breathtaking, and it\u2019s a privilege to behold, but it\u2019s also a display of wealth. It\u2019s also a display of power, a display of self-interest.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Maymester is over, Darden wants to learn more about art history by visiting institutions that elevate cultural art and artifacts that always don\u2019t get the same attention as \u201cthe greats.\u201d Someday, she said, she will share her new appreciation of ethnic art with her children and teach them about the pieces housed in the dark corners of the world\u2019s most famous museums.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s exactly the kind of awareness Williams hopes students will take away.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want my students to see that there\u2019s a different kind of agency they can have in a museum that makes it more inclusive, that makes it more accessible, that doesn\u2019t privilege certain cultures over others,\u201d Williams said. \u201cStudents who want to work in museums, or even just visit museums, should leave the class being more conscious of their actions in that space. I hope they never see museums the same way again.\u201d<\/p>\n

By Emilie Poplett, University Communications<\/em><\/p>\n

Learn more about Maymester.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What\u2019s hidden inside the world\u2019s most famous museums? A Maymester course on museum studies reveals the hidden artifacts and unseen decisions behind these 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