Cultural Resource Management Program at the University of Victoria

As September is upon us, and you may be planning your fall course/conference
attendance, consider this interesting learning opportunity which begins
*next week and runs in conjunction with the October 11-14 WMA/BCMA
conference. We have a few spaces remaining, so contact us if you're
interested in registering!

REIMAGINING MUSEUMS FOR THE FUTURE

Join colleagues from around the continent and enrich your conference
experience by participating in this on-line learning opportunity being held
in conjunction with "CONFERENCE 2000 - Designing the Future Together", the
joint meeting of the Western Museums Association and the British Columbia
Museums Association in Victoria, B.C., October 11-14, 2000. Registration
materials, and further information, is now available on our website at
http://www.uvcs.uvic.ca/crmp.

Re-Imagining Museums for the Future

"One thing ... seems clear," Stephen Weil states, "Tomorrow's museums cannot
be operated with yesterday's skills." Since 20th Century approaches to
self-sustainability are no longer sufficient, this online course examines
innovative strategies for redesigning museums to meet emerging challenges.
This course runs in conjunction with "CONFERENCE 2000 - Designing the Future
Together", the joint meeting of the Western Museums Association and the
British Columbia Museums Association in Victoria, B.C., October 11-14, 2000.
A four-week Internet "seminar" brings participants together online in
advance of the conference to critically review conference themes. You will
meet with other participants and instructors in Victoria during the
Conference, and then gather again online for a five-week post-conference
analysis. Your ability to envision museums of the future is developed
through a discussion of:
* the theory and context of future museums and their audiences
* strategies for working ahead of rapid change
* creating intelligent organizations
* re-imagining our professions in an upside-down world
Through assigned readings, web site reviews, and Internet discussions,
participants and instructors will together investigate current theories,
issues, and trends, maintain on-line journals, and produce research reports.


Instructors: Dr. Michael M. Ames is Adjunct Professor of Cultural Heritage,
Curtin University, Perth, Australia, and the former director of the
University of British Columbia (UBC) Museum of Anthropology and Emeritus
Professor of Anthropology at UBC. Dr. Kersti Krug is Director of Studies for
the new Master's Program in Critical Curatorial Studies at UBC and Manager
of Research and Evaluation at UBC's Museum of Anthropology. She is also a
Sessional Lecturer in Marketing, Faculty of Commerce and Business
Administration, UBC, teaching Internet Marketing.

Dates: September 11 - December 1, 2000
Fee: $589 credit or non-credit; participants must register in Conference
2000 and are responsible for all costs. Full-time students qualify for a
student registration rate at the conference. Conference Website:
http://www.museumsassn.bc.ca/conference/2000/index.html
Technical Requirements: Regular access to a Web Browser such as Internet
Explorer 4.0 or Netscape 4.0.

This 1.5 unit course can be taken on a credit or non-credit basis. If you
wish to earn academic credit you can apply for admission to the University
of Victoria or take the course on a Letter of Permission from another
academic institution.

For more information, please contact:
Joy Davis, Program Director
Brenda Weatherston, Program Coordinator
Cultural Resource Management Program
Continuing Studies, University of Victoria
PO Box 3030 STN CSC
Victoria, BC Canada V8W 3N6
Tel: 250 721-8462
Fax: 250 721-8774
Email: [log in to unmask]
Visit our Website! http://www.uvcs.uvic.ca/crmp
To receive monthly email updates, please contact [log in to unmask]

Pre-Conference Questions:

Q1: What are the major issues facing museums?
Q2: What are the trends in museum development?

WEEK 1 (September 11-17): Introduction: Who Are We?
1.1 Participants / mentors
1.2 Course process and expectations (e.g., assignments, journals,
conference, technology)

WEEK 2 (September 17-24): Background: The Museum Environment
2.1 What's wrong with museums today?
2.2 What are the major issues and trends facing museums and galleries: (a)
demographic, (b) economic, (c) cultural and ideological, (d) technological?

WEEK 3 (September 25-October 1): Responding to the Trends
3.1 Why are some museums more responsive to current issues and trends than
others?

WEEK 4 (October 2-8): Institutional Factors: Organizations and Workers
4.1 What are the management challenges facing museums in the 21st Century?
4.2 What are people talking about at the conference, and what are they not
talking about?
4.3 What are the strengths and weaknesses of hierarchical and horizontal
forms of organization? Under what specific circumstances?
4.4 What kinds of conflicts occur between museum professionals and their
institutions?
4.5 Compare and assess the alternate museum models presented at the
conference, and suggest useful alternatives to the word 'museum.'

WEEK 5 (October 9-15): WMA / BCMA Conference
5.1 Attend the Victoria conference with questions and readings from Week 4
in mind.

WEEK 6 (October 16-22): Institutional Factors (part two)
6.1 Review of conference postings.

WEEK 7 (October 23-29): Thinking Upside Down
7.1 How can we think upside down when all our museum training has been the
other way around?
7.2 What are the costs and benefits of upside-down thinking? What will the
future museum be like, similar to or different from current ones, and why?
What is the power of the label 'museum'? What will it be called if not
'museum'?

WEEK 8 (October 30 -November 5): Thinking Outside the Museum Box 8.1 What
kind of box does the 'museum' label create?
8.2 How can we go beyond the box but still preserve its integrity?

WEEK 9 (November 6 - 12): Thinking Beyond Time and Place
9.1 What are collections in space? And is the Internet long or wide?
9.2 What has been and what might be the impact of the World Wide Web on "the
museum"? Assignment 9: On the basis of conference experiences, reports,
postings, and readings, each team posts a new model for museums (max. 200
words).

WEEK 10 (November 13-19): Attributes of Success
10.1 How will the criteria for a successful organization and the attributes
of successful professionals apply to your chosen new museum model?
10.2 How would you balance organizational and professional success? What is
the potential for conflict?

WEEK 11 (November 20-26): Moving Toward a New Museum Model 11.1 How do
museums change, and why sometimes (or often) don't they?
What is the role of a leader? A follower?
11.2 What are the upsides and downsides of postheroic managers?
11.3 How would one compare male / female styles of leadership?
11.4 How do we deal with organizational inertia, individual malaise, and
toxicity?

WEEK 12 (November 27-December 1): Introducing Change from the Bottom Up
12.1 What opportunities and risks exist for bottom-up change-making?
12.2 How does one become a tempered radical or fuzzy guerrilla?

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