msmith:

This is an old tension between academics and non-academics. Everyone thinks their chosen route is the best and that the people in the other area are either not quite up to snuff or a tad odd.  I think it's probably the same in just about every field in which there are academics and "doers."

Your experience is similar to the response I got from some professors when I decided to "throw away" my historical training and become "a doer" or museum professional  ("What a waste, she probably had some potential as an historian....")  I wanted to do AND think--not just think.  Thinking and doing aren't mutually exclusive, which is something I find some professional academics don't see because there is such an emphasis on the thinking part (they can't help it, it's the way they're trained--I'm married to one).

I wonder if there is the same tension between academics who study English Literature and say, book editors or researchers in the sciences and those who "just" teach?  It wouldn't surprise me.

Do what you want and have fun.  Prove that you can be just as scholarly as the next person AND you have artistic talent to boot which they don't have.  I have a friend from undergrad who did a BFA and then an MA in Art History and now works in a museum.  Please contact me off list if you would like her e-mail address--I'm sure she'd be willing to chat.

Good luck!

Chris.
>>> [log in to unmask] 08/17 1:38 PM >>>
Good Day All,

I have a brief question.  I'm an Art History major at NYU.  During
elementary and high school I went to a special academy for Fine Arts.  At
NYU I decided to major in Art History (with a secondary in Fine Arts).  I
spoke with someone at my company who informed me that someone skilled in
Fine Arts should not pursue Art History.  She said it's for
intellectuals/scholars not for "doers".  After I finished being insulted
(I'm a young and impressionable student), I wondered if there was any truth
to what she said.  Could someone offer any relevant information?  I'd
greatly appreciate it.  Thanks!

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Christine Mouw
Assistant Curator
Herbert Hoover Presidential Library-Museum
West Branch, Iowa  52358
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