Good Morning Mary and Mark,
Good question Mark. If I may build on your observation.........I have seen (by direct on-the-job observation) a growing trend of graduates from museum studies programs, receiving high marks in museology (theory, museum history, ethics, etc...) but low marks in museography (practical museum skills, ....for example, collection management and exhibit work to name a few). This begs the question, "How much of the training in a university degree program should be academic and how much vocational?" Should it be 50/50 theory/practical, or 60/40, or 30/70?
Let's fast forward from graduation to work....some graduates end up in smaller institutions and are given the responsibility of not only developing and designing an exhibit, but actually building it....or, to acquire, register, catalogue, prepare, and research new collections all by themselves! This is one of the many realities in hundreds of museums.
I would be interested to know, which museum studies programs are preparing their students for this type of a "hands-on" reality. I would also be interested to know the opinions of other hiring supervisors/managers on this issue.
.....My bottom line question is, "Should Industrial "dusty" Arts 101 be in the museum studies syllabus?"
Best Wishes,
Wesley
Wesley S. Creel
Administrator of Programs
Pink Palace Family of Museums
3050 Central Avenue
Memphis, TN 38111-3399
www.memphismuseums.org
(901) 320-6370 Direct
(901) 320-6391 FAX
>>> [log in to unmask] 09/23/04 10:35AM >>>
Mary,
Erin's response was thoughtful and complete, and should solve your problem.
My question is about the problem itself. I find myself wondering which
program allows its graduates to leave it sheltering arms so underprepared
for the field? Is this a graduate or undergraduate program; certificate or
full degree?
Mark Janzen
Registrar/Collections Manager
Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art
Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection
Wichita State University
(316)978-5850
Mary Agnes Beach
<mbeach@CORALGABL
ES.COM> To
Sent by: Museum [log in to unmask]
discussion list cc
<[log in to unmask]
SE.LSOFT.COM> Subject
cataloguer training
09/22/2004 08:45
AM
Please respond to
Museum discussion
list
<[log in to unmask]
SE.LSOFT.COM>
We are hiring a new graduate from a museum studies program to do
cataloguing of a collection that includes art, artifacts, and archives. We
also are purchasing Embark software for the cataloguing. I would like to
hear suggestions as to how to minimize supervisory time and have her learn
the program and cataloguing process on her own. Her degree seems to give
her a good foundation but during school they did not do any actual
cataloguing or learn about any of the available programs.
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed
information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail
message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should
read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to
[log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff
Museum-L" (without the quotes).
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
|
