How Culture is Erased

The exhibits and galleries that you see in a museum display a message. The collections are carefully chosen to serve a specific purpose. Part of the work that goes into museum curation is removing or reapplying cultural significance behind individual pieces to fit them into this broader message that the museum is trying to convey to you, the onlooker. In Dr. Edwards’ Museum Studies course, students have the opportunity to analyze the impacts of displays upon their original cultures and how it then shifts society’s connection to said cultures. You hear from various individuals in these institutions to understand how the practice differs while also diving deeper into exposing institutional purposes for the displays that they chose to present. 

Student Reflection

Now that I’m a senior, I look back fondly upon my sophomore experience (fall 2020) in this course. I had considered museum studies as my path after graduation, but this course exposed me to a range of fields  that I had never considered. I learned that there was a difference between being a curator, an archivist, or a public historian, but these are all careers where my history degree could take me. 

Museum Studies was last offered Spring of 2022, it is offered approximately every 2 years.