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ARCH 1160 THE WORLD OF MUSEUMS: LOGISTICS, LAWS AND LOANS

Wednesday 2:00-4:20pm Morag Kersel

Morag_Kersel@brown.edu Rhode Island Hall, Room 210

Office Hours 2:30-4:30 Tuesdays or by appointment

Description: This course will examine critically the collection of ancient objects. From functional, historical, material and aesthetic perspectives, the relationships between the cultural contexts of objects and museums will be examined. Case studies, guest lectures and site visits (virtual and real) will be used to demonstrate evolving theory, practice, law and ethical implications of collecting archaeological objects. This seminar explores many of the logistical aspects of the museum including the laws and mission statements, which guide its practice. The legal and ethical features of museums will also be examined. This is not a lecture-based course – emphasis is on class participation and presentations. Course Objectives: At the end of the course, the student should be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the history and organization of museums • Understand the historical, but changing roles of objects for museums • Debate ethical issues pertaining to museums • Discuss critically, in written and verbal form, current issues in the philosophy of museums,

museum missions, representation of the past, interpretation of cultural objects, and the role of museums in society

• Evaluate critically a museum exhibition • Locate the core museum studies literature, principal museum organizations, and museum

reference sources, including on-line resources • Conduct original research on a topic related to museum law, logistics and loans and present

that research in a poster or exhibit panel • Work collaboratively with others in team based learning and problem solving

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Text • There is no textbook for this class, but various articles as assigned. All of the assigned

readings are available on the wiki. There are also a number of books on reserve at the Rock and the class password is MuseumsRock.

Course Format and Evaluation Classes will be a mixture of lectures, guest lecturers, field trips, films, discussion, debates, and student presentations. This course requires active and consistent participation through steady reading, writing, and involvement. Students are expected to attend class, read the articles as assigned, participate in field trips, and to discuss the course content. Site Visits and Guest Speakers • It is the student’s responsibility to arrange transportation to the museums and arrive on time. • For class meetings held in museums only pencil may be used due to conservation concerns. • Please prepare for guests and site visits by exploring the museum’s website and generate

questions for the guest speaker. Grades are based on the following: Assignment Description Due Date % Of grade Class participation Attendance, class contributions.

Participation in the Great Debate and Ripped from the Headlines will be factored into this grade.

Ongoing 20%

Night at the Museum Movie review and questions Sept. 16 10% Virtual Museum Visit Online Museum visit Sept. 23 5% Museum Visit Real Museum visit worksheet ? 5% Research Project proposal and annotated bibliography

The proposal should be a 300-500 word sketch of the project with an annotated bibliography which should have no less than 10 sources cited and annotated, providing the background reading for the final paper. Note that sources must be a mix of books, articles and websites (limited to 3 from the web).

Oct. 21 10%

Research Project 10 double-spaced pages (excluding the bibliography) using at least 10 references properly cited.

Nov. 25 30%

Poster Prepare a poster based on your paper topic

Dec. 2 10%

Poster Presentations 5-10 minute presentation on the final paper/poster topic

Dec. 2 and Dec. 9

10%

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Seminar Participation The ability to participate in seminar discussions is an essential skill. Seminars will take a variety of forms including short presentations, debates, question and answer sessions with guest speakers, field trip, and open discussion. Emergency-related absences must be communicated to me via e-mail or phone BEFORE THE CLASS MEETS! Unavoidable Realities If you cannot complete an assignment on time for any reason, you are responsible for contacting me as soon as possible. Exercises that are turned in late will be penalized for each day they're late if you do not negotiate an extension with me beforehand. You are responsible for knowing all due dates on the syllabus. The final syllabus posted at the beginning of the term will include deadlines for all assignments: it is your responsibility to know when assignments are due. There will be no extra credit material. If you do not complete course work by term's end you will receive no credit for unfinished work. The course will require students to develop and demonstrate core communication and quantitative skills; critical thinking; integration of knowledge; intellectual depth, breadth, and adaptability; understanding of society and culture; and ability to make informed value and ethical judgments. Students will be expected to conform to academic honesty codes of conduct. Cheating includes dishonesty of any kind with respect to exams or assignments. Plagiarism is the offering of someone else’s work as your own: this includes taking un-cited material from books, web pages, or other students, turning in the same or substantially similar work as other students, or failing to properly cite other research. Please consult with me if you have any questions. DATE TOPICS READINGS FIELD

TRIP/ASSIGNMENT/ GUEST SPEAKER

WEEK 1 Sept. 9

INTRODUCTION The Wacky World of Museums Nuts and Bolts What the class is all about and what is expected.

No readings assigned, in class we will watch We Love Museums, Do they Love us Back, with Pinky and Kim. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaFbmuEUdwI

Assignment: Night at the Museum movie review

WEEK 2 Sept. 16

LOGISTICS: WHAT IS A MUSEUM? Night at the Museum discussion A brief history of museums Museum missions and mission statements, legal, historical, and organizational contexts

E.G. Burcaw, (1995). Museum Defined. In Introduction to Museum Work, pp. 3-13. P. Gerstenblith, (2006). Museum Practice: Legal Issues. In A Companion to Museum Studies, S. Macdonald editor, pp. 442-456. H. Gurian (2006). Choosing Among the Options (pp. 48-56, chapter 5). Civilizing the Museum. Routledge. Hein, H.S. (2000). Introduction: From Object to Experience. The Museum in Transition. A Philosophical Perspective. Smithsonian Press. Mission Statements and Websites of ICOM (International Council of Museums) AAM (American Association of Museums)

DUE: Night at the Museum movie review Assignment: Virtual Museum visit review

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AAMD (American Association of Museum Directors)

WEEK 3 Sept. 23

LOGISTICS: MUSEUM COMMUNITIES Virtual museum discussion The publics? The professionals? The excluded? CASE STUDY: The Royal Ontario Museum Rock Library Visit What is an annotated bibliography? How to research an essay. How to write and cite an essay. Possible paper topics

J. Appleton (2007). Museums for ‘The People’? In Museums and Their Communities, S. Watson editor, pp. 114-126. J. Clifford (1997). Museum as Contact Zones. In Representing the Nation: A Reader. Histories, heritage and museums, D. Boswell and J. Evans, editor, pp. 435-457. S. Watson (2007). Introduction: Museums and their Communities. In Museums and Their Communities, S. Watson, editor, pp. 1-23. S. Weil (2002). The Museum and the Public. In Museums and Their Communities, S. Watson, editor, pp. 32-46. CASE STUDY READINGS J. Gatehouse (2005). Cashbox. Maclean’s, March 28, 26-36. H. Riegel (1996). Into the Heart of Irony: Ethnographic Exhibitions and the Politics of Difference. The Sociological Review 1996:83-104. E. Schildkrout (1991). Ambiguous Museums and Ironic Tourists: Into the Heart of Africa and the Other Museum.” Museum Anthropology 15(2): 16-23. G. York (2008) Chinese Antiquities at the ROM Under Renewed Scrutiny. The Globe and Mail January 19, 2008

DUE: Virtual Museum visit review

WEEK 4 Sept. 30

MUSEUM VISIT – THE JOHN BROWN HOUSE MUSEUM

Museum visit worksheet Meet at 52 Power Street

WEEK 5 Oct. 7

LAWS AND LOANS: ACQUISITIONS Case Study: The Hot Pot

N. Brodie (2006). US Art Museum Accessions. Culture Without Context, Issue 18. J. Cuno (2007). Art Museums, Archaeology and Antiquities in an Age of Sectarian Violence and Nationalist Politics. In The Acquisition and Exhibition of Classical Antiquities, edited by R. Rhodes, pp. 9-26. and response by Charles Rosenberg. P. Gerstenblith (2007). The Acquisition and Exhibition of Classical Antiquities. In The Acquisition and Exhibition of Classical Antiquities, edited by R. Rhodes, pp. 47-63. And response M. S. Gold (2005) Death By Ethics. Museum News November/December. R. Mead (2007). Den of antiquity (Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Antiquities Department), The New Yorker (April 9th, 2007) 83: 52-61. C. Renfrew (2006). Museum Acquisition: Responsibilities for the Illicit Traffic in Antiquities. In Archaeology, Cultural Heritage and the Antiquities Trade, edited by N. Brodie, M.M. Kersel, C. Luke and K.W. Tubb, pp. 245-257. AAMD New Report on Acquisition of Archaeological Materials and Ancient Art, June 2008, http://www.aamd.org/newsroom/

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Philadelphia Declaration T. Hoving (2001). The Hot Pot, ArtNet Magazine, July 2, 2001.

WEEK 6 Oct. 14

MUSEUM VISIT RISD WITH CURATOR PROF. GINA BORROMEO

Museum visit worksheet

WEEK 7 Oct. 21

LAW AND LOANS: NATIONALISM The Universal Museum, partage and loans Guest Speaker – Dr. Susan Keitumetse, Watson Institute for International Studies

N. Brodie (2009). Unwanted Pieces. Museum International Vol. 61 No.1-2: 97-100. J. Cuno (2006). View from the Universal Museum. In Imperialism, Art and Restitution, J.H. Merryman, editor, pp. 15-33. P.G. Ferri (2009) New Types of Cooperation Between Museums and Countries of Origin. Museum International Vol. 61 No.1-2: 91-94. F.S. Kaplan (2006). Making and Remaking National Identities. In A Companion to Museum Studies, S. Macdonald editor, pp. 152-169. B. Magness-Gardiner (2003) Long-Term Archaeological Loans from Italy: Summary of Roundtable Discussions. American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 107(3): 477-481 CASE STUDY READINGS S.O. Keitumetse, G. Matlapeng and L. Monamo (2007) Cultural Landscapes, Communities and World Heritage: In Pursuit of the Local in the Tsodilo Hills, Botswana. In Envisioning Landscape: situations and standpoints in archaeology and heritage. D. Hicks, L. McAtackney and G. Fairclough, editors, pp. 101-119. S.O. Keitumetse (2009) Sustainable Development and Cultural Heritage Management in Botswana: Towards Sustainable Communities. Sustainable Development

Sides assigned for the Great Debate DUE: Paper proposal and Annotated Bibliography

WEEK 8 Oct. 28

LAWS: REPATRIATION Part I: Museums The Great Debate – Parthenon Marbles Part II: Human Remains Kennewick Man and NAGPRA

T. Besterman (2009) Returning a Stolen Generation. Museum International Vol. 61 No. 102: 107-111. M. Simpson (2009). Museums and Restorative Justice: Heritage, Repatriation and Cultural Education. Museum International Vol. 61 No. 102: 121-129. CASE STUDY READINGS Y. Hamilakis (1999). Stories from Exile. Fragments from the Cultural Biography of the Parthenon (or “Elgin”) Marbles. World Archaeology 31(2): 303-320. C. Hitchens (2009). The Lovely Stones. Vanity Fair, July. J. Lobell (2009) A New Home for the Treasures of the Acropolis. Archaeology, September/October Vol 62 (5): D. Rudenstine (2000). Did Elgin Cheat at Marbles? The Nation May 29, 2000: 43-51. A. Snodgrass (2004). The Parthenon Marbles as an archaeological issue. In Material Engagements: Studies in honour of Colin Renfrew, edited by N. Brodie and C. Hills, pp. 115-124. W. G. Stewart (2001). The Marbles: Elgin or

The Great Debate: Greece vs. The UK

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Parthenon? IAL Annual Lecture, December 2000. Art, Antiquity and Law 6(1): 37-56. B. Trigger (1984). Alternative archaeologies: nationalist, colonialist, imperialist. Man, New Series 19(3): 355-370. D. Anderson (1996). Reburial: Is It Reasonable? In Archaeological Ethics, edited by K. Vitelli, pp. 200-208. G. A. Clark (1998). NAGPRA, the Conflict between Science and Religion, and the Political Consequences, SAA Bulletin 16(5): 23-25. J. Watkins (1998). Native Americans, Western Science, and NAGPRA. SAA Bulletin 16(5): 23-25. A response to Clark. L. Zimmerman (1998). When Data Become People: Archaeological Ethics, Reburial, and the Past as Public Heritage. International Journal of Cultural Property 7(1): 69-86. http://www.kennewick-man.com/ http://www.cr.nps.gov/aad/kennewick/

WEEK 9 Nov. 4

Guest Lecturer – Dr. Kevin Smith, Deputy Director/Chief Curator of the Haffenreffer Museum

http://www.brown.edu/Facilities/Haffenreffer/index.php

WEEK 10 Nov. 11

LOGISTICS: NON-TRADITIONAL MUSEUMS Case Studies Jordan Mali Mini-Israel

C. Kreps (2006). Non-Western Models of Museums and Curation in Cross-cultural Perspective. In A Companion to Museum Studies, S. Macdonald editor, pp. 457-472. Y. Rowan (2004) Repackaging the Pilgrimage: Visiting the Holy Land In Orlando. In Marketing Heritage: Archaeology and the Consumption of the Past, Y. Rowan and U. Baram, editors, pp. 249-266. R. Rydell (2006). Worlds Fairs and Museums. In A Companion to Museum Studies, S. Macdonald editor, pp. 135-151. CASE STUDY READINGS G. Bisheh (2001). One Damn Illicit Excavation After Another: The Destruction of the Archaeological Heritage of Jordan. In Trade in Illicit Antiquities: the destruction of the world’s archaeological heritage, Brodie et al. editors, pp. 115-118. T. Deubel, (2006). Banking on Culture: Microcredit as Incentive for Cultural Conservation in Mali. In The Perils and Prospects of Microfinance: Globalization, Neo-liberalism and the Cultural Politics of Empowerment, Jude Fernando, editor, pp. 133-153. K. Politis (2002). Dealing with the Dealers and Tomb Robbers: The realities of the archaeology of the Ghor es-Safi in Jordan. In Illicit Antiquities, Brodie and Tubb, editors, pp. 257-267.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wzyRepJuvM&feature=channel

WEEK 11 Nov. 18

Guest Lecturer – Dr. Michelle Berenfeld, Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology & the Ancient

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World WEEK 12 Nov. 25

HAPPY THANKSGIVING HAPPY THANKSGVING DUE: Final paper (email papers to me at Morag_Kersel@brown.edu)

WEEK 13 Dec. 2

Final Paper/Poster presentations

DUE: Poster assignment

WEEK 14 Dec. 9

Final Paper/Poster presentations

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ASSIGNMENT #1 WATCH “NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM” (THE ORIGINAL) ARCH 1160 The World of Museums: Logistics, Laws and Loans DUE September 16, 2009 Writing and discussion assignment

“Night at the Museum is a 2006 American adventure comedy film based on the 1993 children's book with the same name by Milan Trenc. It follows a divorced father trying to settle down, impress his son, and find his destiny. He applies for a job as a night watchman at New York City's American Museum of Natural History and subsequently discovers that the exhibits, animated by a magical Egyptian artifact, come to life at night.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_at_the_Museum) The movie is available from Netflicks, libraries, and local video rental stores. We will use the film for class discussion about perceptions about the value of museums, stereotypes of museum professionals, and other themes. Keep in mind the YouTube video by Mimi and Kim (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaFbmuEUdwI) and the issues that are raised in that video when answering the questions.

Night at the Museum Discussion Questions 1. What are some of the very obvious stereotypes about museums in the film? 2. What staff members are evident in the film, and what is their role in the Museum? 3. What inaccuracies do you notice (examples: things in the wrong time or place)? 4. Where are issues of gender and race evident in the film? 5. Though it changes by the end, what is the nature of this museum in its relationship to community? 6. People seem to have fantasies about staying overnight in a museum (think Lisa Simpson and others as well as this film). Why? 7. What other observations would you make about the film? 8. Does this film help or harm museums? Why? Be prepared to discuss these questions in class and have a 2-3-page essay addressing the questions. DUE September 16, 2009

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ASSIGNMENT #2 THE VIRTUAL MUSEUM VISIT ARCH 1160 The World of Museums: Logistics, Laws and Loans

1. Choose a museum and visit virtually. Make sure that the museum you choose has a mission statement (either posted on their website or available if you contact the museum director). Explore their activities, programs, collections, and displays to see how they meet their mission.

2. Choose a museum (online) that meets each of the following criteria. You will be asked to explain your rationale with supporting evidence from the class readings and the museum wesbite.

- A museum you think provides the greatest benefit to its community - A museum you think should not exist - A museum you find inspiring - A museum you find bizarre - A museum in which you would most like to work.

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RESEARCH PROJECT GUIDELINES ARCH 1160 The World of Museums: Logistics, Laws and Loans Overview During the semester each of you will work independently on a research project. The theme will relate to the readings, issues, guest speakers, and case studies we have explored in class. The individual project will delve deeply into a particular issue related to a specific museum or institution. The project will involve reading primary and secondary sources that are relevant to your topic. Objectives

• To building your research skills in research, writing and oral presentation • To broaden your knowledge in the field of museum studies • To develop your skills in analyzing and interpreting museum practices, particularly from the

legal, logistical and loan aspects of their missions. Assignment

• Write an analysis of a case in which a museum or other cultural institution has dealt with a controversial situation regarding logistics, loans or law (acquisitions, deaccessioning, politics of display, repatriation, unethical boards etc.) Analyze the ways in the museum dealt with this controversy. Your article should put the case in the context of issues discussed in this course, including museum ethics. For example, the Brooklyn Museum announced in the summer of 2008 that it has purchased many items of Coptic art that have now been determined to be fakes, but has decided to exhibit these forgeries. Other museums have wrestled with whether or not they should repatriate items to indigenous peoples to whom NAGPRA does not apply.

• This paper will require some research for articles about museum cases. You may use the articles included in the reading, but you need to use at least two additional sources. Please feel free to get in contact with me regarding topics or areas of research. I have a whole list of topics surrounding museums and controversies.

• In addition to writing a 10-page research paper, you will be asked to present your research as a poster in class.

Milestones

• September 23 – ROCK library visit with Dr. Norine Duncan about library resources • October 21 – project proposal and annotated bibliography • November 25 – final paper DUE – email to me at Morag_Kersel@brown.edu and drop off

a copy in my box in Rhode Island Hall • December 2 and 9 – Poster presentations