Final Project

As a final project for History 435, you will work as part of a group of four students to propose a and theorize a new museum or to propose a major revision of an existing museum. Each group is charged with proposing a concept for a new or revised museum, justifying its importance, theorizing its mission and design, articulating its mission and collections policies, explaining its social function and its funding, and designing at least one of its exhibits. The goal of this assignment is for students to bring together ideas and evidence from the course readings to propose a museum and an exhibit that 1) shows an understanding of the different forms and functions of museums in society; 2) that is attentive to the ways in which museums relate to objects, construct narratives, and serve communities; and 3) that addresses concerns about how museums and their practices have been exclusionary or colonialist. You will need to propose and defend your choice; explain the significance of your proposed museum and its mission and policies; explore the theme, arguments, and specific components of an example exhibit or gallery; and draw on course readings to theorize and contextualize your project.

Your project should include the following elements and address all of the following questions

1. Overview: What kind of museum are you proposing or which museum are you remaking? This section needs to specify the nature of the proposed museum or revisions; the importance of this particular institution how its mission is defined, whether you intend to build a new building or repurpose an old one, and where the museum will be located. As you develop your museum, be thinking about its “script”—the kind of unwritten messages it communicates to visitors through its architecture, design, use of space—and explain how your museum seeks to use these elements to educate/attract/influence visitors.

2. Collections: How will your museum approach collections? What will they prioritize collecting? In Your project must include a proposed collections and deaccessioning policy for your museum that takes into account best practices and legal standards as appropriate.

3. Audience/Community: Who will this museum serve? How do you propose to attract your audience? What role does the museum want to play in its surrounding community and how will it seek to do that?

4. Funding: Where will you find the money to build what you want to build? How will this museum seek to fund itself? Will you charge admission? Why or why not? Rely on major donors? Seek government grants? Lay out the pros and cons of the funding plan for your exhibit.

5. Exhibit Design: Projects must include plans for one example exhibit. The exhibit section of the project should include the following elements:

· Specify what the exhibit is about, what its main purpose and argument/narrative are, and how this particular exhibit relates to the mission of the museum overall.

· Specify any input you would seek prior to designing the exhibit or writing its script; any way that visitors could interact with the gallery while they were in it; the way you would seek (or if you would seek) visitor response at the end.

· Provide approximately a one-page (or more, if needed) design of the room noting approximate size (are you talking about a 50 ft x 100 ft room, smaller or larger? Provide a layout of the room on your design: where will the cases be (if you have cases), where free-standing artifacts, where are there chairs, other objects in the room or exhibit, etc. Draw arrows to suggest the narrative flow of the design, if you have one. Please do not worry about your design or artistic abilities here; just make sure that the layout is clear enough so that I can make out what’s going on.

· Explain how you will display materials and why.

· Design at least two elements of your exhibit or gallery (one case; one interactive device; one series of panels, etc.). Specify what it would look like (with a drawing if you can or want), what it would include (nature of the artifacts, use of other media [sound, visual, smell]), write out a label for the exhibit and/or the textual panel that would go with it. Describe the artifacts you would use as clearly as possible. Finally, explain the goal of that specific element and how it fits in with the goals of the overall exhibit or gallery.

6. Theory: Throughout your project, you must “theorize” your museum and exhibit by drawing on materials we have read this semester. Your museum mission, design, choice of artifacts, interactives, labels, flow, display choices, should all be supported by some reference to museum practices that we have discussed and read about. This academic theorizing can be integrated throughout the project or can be its own section, but you must draw on course readings and ideas we have talked about to explain and justify the choices you are making in your project. If you are designing a museum/revising a museum to challenge existing historical practices, this part of the project should explain that historical background and how your proposed institution is challenging traditional practices.

There is no overall page limit or recommendation for this project and you may incorporate different elements in the project (part paper, part PowerPoint, for example). Your project should cover all the sections listed, but don’t feel that you are limited by these questions or topics. You may add any additional information that you want or feel is necessary to support your project.

Please don't hesitate to ask if you have questions--I will meet with each group individually at least twice over the course of the semester to discuss your project.

INITIAL PROPOSAL due by 10:00pm on October 30: Groups should submit an initial proposal laying out their ideas by Sunday, October 30. Please email me a single copy of your group’s proposal. Proposals should be no more than one page.

UPDATE AND BIBLIOGRAPHY due by 10:00pm on December 4: For December 4, please turn in a brief update about the state of the project. How are your ideas evolving? What do you still need to figure out? What challenges are you facing? You also need to turn in a bibliography. What are the main theories and discussions of museum practice that are motivating and enlightening your project? Your bibliography should include those articles, books, and other resources that you are finding most useful in this project, both for designing your museum overall and for the specific exhibit you are proposing. These should include both materials we have used in class and those you have found in your own research. List six sources minimum and briefly explain how you are using each one in the project.

FINAL PROJECT due on December 21 at 7:00 PM.