Museums Concentration

MUX 120/ ARX 120/ BKX 120 Colloquium: Concentration Gateway Course (4 Credits)

Offered as ARX 120, BKX 120 and MUX 120. This course serves as a shared gateway for the Archives, Book Studies and Museums concentrations. Students explore histories, futures and systems of knowledge production, preservation, organization and distribution through the kinds of objects and evidence held by archives, libraries and museums. As evidence of their evolving and complex operations, this course introduces the history of such institutions, their evolving public mission, issues central to their work today, and the creation and uses of materials they hold. The course critically engages the emergence of such institutions, specifically within this regional context and in this framework of a college campus. S/U only. Enrollment limited to 25. (E)

Fall, Spring, Annually

MUX 222 Colloquium: Topics in Museums Studies (1 Credit)

What goes on behind the scenes in a museum? Who makes the decisions about what to collect and how to display and interpret it? How do concepts of mission and public trust guide that work? Through a series of rotating topics, Studies in Museums considers the conceptual and practical issues governing the work of museums. The course uses the resources of the Smith College Museum of Art--collections, programs, and staff--to explore these issues in practice. Through this work students are introduced to the professional disciplines found within the field of museums, including curation, education, conservation, and registration. Restrictions: MUX 222 may not be repeated. Enrollment limited to 16.

Interterm, Variable

MUX 222np Colloquium: Topics in Museums Studies-Nazi-era Provenance Research (1 Credit)

Provenance is a crucial aspect of museum practice. This class presents an overview of provenance research and restitution in museums with a focus on art looted by the Nazis during World War II (1933-1945). It addresses the ethics, legality, and complications surrounding the restitution of works of art that are still ongoing. The course uses objects from the SCMA collection as case studies of the various approaches to provenance research. Students learn how to conduct basic research by consulting a variety of sources. Guest speakers offer additional training and insight. S/U only. Restrictions: MUX 222 may not be repeated. Enrollment limited to 16. (E)

Interterm, Variable

MUX 300 Seminar: Museums Concentration Research Capstone Seminar (4 Credits)

Required for all seniors pursuing the museums concentration, this seminar provides a forum for students to develop research capstone projects that synthesize their previous coursework and practical experiences for the Museums Concentration. These projects are supplemented by weekly seminar meetings in which students explore and critique the mission and work of museums and contemporary forces shaping them. Class sections also provide a forum for progress reports and discussion of individual research projects as well as final presentations. Students must have completed the requirements for the Museums Concentration (www.smith.edu/academics/museums-concentration). Cannot be taken S/U. Restrictions: Seniors only; Museums concentrators only. Enrollment limited to 15. Instructor permission required.

Spring

MUX 400 Special Studies (1-4 Credits)

Normally, museums concentrators only. Instructor permission required.

Fall, Spring