What I've Learned So Far

My topic, about young adult engagement in museums with regards to special events and programming, has been very interesting so far. I have found that several museums around the world are actually very concerned with the status of their engagement with this age group (19-35). There have also been studies done by large institutions like the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum that include statistical information that is quite interesting to look at. For example, the largest age group attending their after hours events are from ages 24-26 at about 32% of their attendees. Other studies include surveys and more qualitative data which I will use as examples for when I begin to collect my own data.

As for the things I still need to know; I am interested in interviewing some of the local professionals that plan such events and see what their ideas about the success of their programs are. I would also like to see how I can link these experiences to a text that I have been reading called The Great Good Place by Ray Oldenburg. In this book, he discusses the idea of a "Third Place" and I find it fascinating the connection that can be created between people and these "Third Places".

What I've Learned in Class Thus Far

In order to write a thesis or any other piece of critical academic literature, a solid foundation for research methodologies, writing clarity, the formulation of specific research questions, analysis of data, formation of conclusions from the evidence presented/collected, and a solid understanding of how to format and structure citations are required. In other words, in order to construct an academic work that directly engages with difficult subjects, one must be able to dissect, analyze, and critique scholarly sources as well as refer to them correctly. In order to even begin the process of academic inquiry and research, previous examples of theses or academic studies/experiments already extant in the field need to be read as both examples of what works in regards to forwarding one's argument(s) and what does not. How do you, as an individual, present your ideas in a way that engages meaningfully with your audience? This is the driving question behind what we do within our Research Methods class with Professor Caroll.

The pieces that we have examined in class as well as on our own serve as perfect examples of the possible shortcomings or over-extensions of a thesis topic which either make or break the effectiveness of the conclusions/research presented. For example, when reading the "I Know I’m Home When I Have One: The Cultural Significance of the Garbage Plate of Rochester, NY" article the issue of having a succinct, accurate, and specific abstract was explored. Namely, within the abstract it was stated that the cultural roots of the foods and ingredients used within the garbage plate would be discussed and analyzed, however, the work itself focused more upon how the community perceived the garbage plate itself. The ingredients were mentioned, but only in their relation to other popular bar foods and juxtaposing the complexity of the garbage plate (i.e. the amount of ingredients) with community members' own previous experiences with Rochester's food culture. What this piece did do well was explore how a detailed community survey/interview allows multiple perspectives and meaningful details one may have overlooked to come to the surface of a discussion: the experiences of the community became the focus and framework for the academic work and subsequent discussion. 

When reading through and attempting to summarize Elizabeth Bucar's work dealing with the ethics of visual culture and the social act of seeing, I tackled a common issue inherent to academic writing. How does one succinctly and effectively communicate a wealth of heavy theoretical and abstract concepts? Bucar was writing in response to a panel of Religious Ethics discussing cultural anthropologist Kenneth George’s book [as well as other examples from the literary discourse regarding visual culture], Picturing Islam: Art and Ethics in a Muslim Lifeworld (2010), a retrospective of the collaborative work between George and Indonesian Islamic artist Djalil Pirous wherein the concept of creative visual expression is examined as a means of cultivating a specific self-concept and developing a moral framework from which to engage reality. Bucar's essay revealed to me just how difficult and crucial being able to succinctly provide contextual backgrounds for one's argument is when writing for an audience that may or may not be familiar with the concepts one is exploring. This was very helpful for me as Bucar summarizes the current conversations and topics circulating the visual culture aspects of religious ethical thought in an accessible, detailed, yet not long-winded manner. Hopefully I will be able to communicate myself as accessibly and thoroughly as I read through the literature surrounding cultural institutions' engagement with climate change.

I have been utilizing Zotero as a content management system for my research and it has been an invaluable tool. 
 

Bibliography
Bucar, Elizabeth M. 2016. "The Ethics of Visual Culture." Journal of Religious Ethics 44 (1): 7-16.
Fekete, Emily. 2014. “‘I Know I’m Home When I Have One:’ The Cultural Significance of the Garbage Plate of Rochester, NY,” Material Culture 46 (1): 25-43.

My Current Thesis Topic Ideas

Originally, I was going to tackle the question of how museums and cultural institutions interact with contemporary social movements such as Black Lives Matter, Free the Nipple, and issues involving the hijab as well as the representation of Muslim Americans in popular media (juxtaposed with the museological representation(s) of these people currently being exhibited or having been exhibited in the past). I wanted to focus upon the Rochester area, due to its history of tumultuous race relations, revolt, and large African American population as well as the international and interracial student population at RIT providing a wide breadth of demographics for surveys/interviews. In other words, I initially wanted to explore both how museums and cultural institutions in Rochester, NY (and the surrounding suburbs) meaningfully interact with contemporary social movements, what it means to interact meaningfully with these social movements (both from the museum professional perspective and that of those personally involved with the social movements being examined), and how museums may foster more intimate and powerful connections with local communities via interacting with relevant social movements.

However, after looking at myself and my interests I have decided to move my tentative topic in a more environmentally conscious direction: how are museums and cultural institutions interpreting and educating the public in regards to climate change? Are museums and cultural institutions able to leave visitors with valuable knowledge about their climate, environment, and the preservation of not only museum objects but objects that they use in their daily lives? Do museums meaningfully convey the importance of developing new modes of energy generation, an awareness of the drastic effects that humans have on their surroundings, or are visitor made aware that climate change affects their lives (and their futures) every second of every day? These questions, along with analyzing and critically examining how museums directly devoted to environmental issues such as proposed The Climate Museum of New York City have impacted both their local and global communities. Namely, how does The Climate Museum intend to encourage discussion as well as engagement with the topics at hand? Is that discussion meaningful enough to spur actual changes in people's lives? Have visitors outside of New York City (residents of other large New York cities such as Rochester) heard of the The Climate Museum or engaged with topics concerning climate change through local institutions' exhibitions, objects, or community outreach programming? How do local Rochesterian museum professionals attempt to engage the public with discussion involving climate change? Does the public find these engagements successful and do these museum professionals find their methods of engaging with said public successful?

I hope to answer these questions or at least suggest methods of best practices following interviews and surveys with both the staff/leading figures of The Climate Museum, the Rochester Museum and Science Center (RMSC), The George Eastman Museum (GEM), and other relevant local institutions (such as colleges/universities like RIT and the University of Rochester). Climate change and environmental degradation are ongoing, unstoppable issues that directly effect both the present and future of humanity: I hope to ascertain that this reality is both understood by and guides museum programming in a way which promotes active thinking and lifestyle changes within their local and global audiences.

What I'm Learning From My Thesis Research

The vanguard field of Digitization is one that is broad yet specialized. Most of my research consists of descriptions of procedures and technology such as the article "Digital Three-Dimensional Modelling of Donatello's David by Frequency-Modulated Laser Radar." On the other hand, some authors focus on the implications surrounding the accessibility and variety of the World Wide Web as defined by the paper “The Future of Museums in the Digital Age: New Models for Access to and Use of Digital Collections." Most researchers are worried about what laser, scanner or camera to use while others focus on how to monetize their digital collection. Along with this focus on the feasibility technology, authors such as Francoise Benhamou and Victor Ginsburgh of the paper “Is There a Market for Copies?” look in to whether reproductions can be used to deceive the art world as forgeries and if preservation through this method is detrimental becasue of it. Overall, on the technological side, I have learned what I should look for when scanning an object to make sure it is an accurate reproduction and how to 3D print. On the theory side, I learned how to organize and upload this information on the internet in a way to preserve its authenticity and increase its accessibility.

I have a handful of things I wish to know other than the feasibility of 3D scanning and printing archival objects as replacements which is the basis for my thesis. Some questions I still have include, can I 3D scan a book and upload it to an archive's website without the author's knowledge? If I need permission and the author is deceased, when does the content become public domain? The answers to these questions ensure that I would not run into any legal trouble while pursuing my thesis. I also would like to find out what is the best practice to scanning pages in a book. When a book is bound, a camera is unable to capture a flat surface as it might have it if the object was a singular piece of paper. The only way to solve these questions is through continued research and that is what I aim to do.

Potential topic

Since I want to explore a career in Museum Education, I think I’ll write my thesis about a topic related to the field. Specifically, I want to focus on adult learning in nonformal environments. I wrote a paper for Dr. Lent's class about the same subject, and I want to examine it further. 

There is a definite gap of academic research focusing specifically on adult education in museums—most of what I found was about children and school groups. To narrow my topic further, I think I’ll write about a specific underrepresented adult demographic, like seniors or adults without college educations. Museums claim to be centers for lifelong learning, so the academic research should reflect that. Seniors and retirees make up a large part of museum visitors, members, and volunteers, yet I can't find much about how to accommodate their educational needs. I'd be interested in a project that addresses this issue.

Introduction: Elizabeth Gwilt

Hi everyone, my name is Elizabeth Gwilt and I’m a fourth year in the Museum Studies program. When I first transferred into the program, I didn’t have a clue about which specific aspects of museum work appealed to me. But now, after taking more museum classes and learning from my own experience, I can say that I’d like to focus on the field of Museum Education. Examining how people learn in museum settings is very interesting to me. I’d love to learn more about methods for assessing learning, and how to design programming that meets visitors’ needs.

My first internship experience took place at the Henry B. Plant Museum in Tampa, Florida. Although I had a great experience, the small museum lacked an education department, so I hope to find another internship that can support my interest in education. In the meantime, I think my thesis will be related to education somehow.

My Thesis Topic

My senior thesis topic is going to entail aviation, military history, and the cultural landscape of soldiers and pilots. The main focus will be on original artwork by servicemen and servicewomen on the front-side of aircraft, referred to as “nose art” after the section of the machine which serves as the surface for application of paint. First popularized during the then-nascent aerial combat of the Second World War, this art has remained a staple of many different militaries' culture, and has changed over time as the decades progress. My thesis will recount the history of this medium, as well as the culture of service that leads to the practice. Digital resources of images of this art will be invaluable, and my research will draw from multiple different repositories from different institutions, such as the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum and the National Museum of The United States Air Force. My research will also include primary sources from servicemen, enabling me to accurately analyze the perspectives and views behind the different kinds of art one can see on the noses of aircraft.

Thesis Topic

As I discussed in my post from early September, I've been working with a team of mechanical engineers on the Uncommon Press project, which will culminate in the creation of an English common press for the Cary Graphic Arts Collection. I have decided that I will use my experience and participation in this project as a starting point for my senior thesis. More specifically, I plan to focus on the way in which the finished press can be utilized by individuals outside of the RIT and printing communities. The idea to hone in on this area arose through conversations with various individuals, including Dr. Decker; I've been asked multiple times, "what's the end goal for this project? Is it just to have a wooden press in the Cary's collection? Will it be accessible to the general public?" I think these are important question, which deserve to be answered.

One could certainly reason that creating the press just to say you have one is an expensive and largely unnecessary endeavor. Since wooden common presses, whether they're originals or reconstructions, are quite rare, I would counter that there certainly is value in creating it so that it can be placed alongside newer, cast iron presses in the Cary. Still, that might not seem like a sufficient reason, so I plan to dig deeper, and provide at least one answer to the question: "How can a reconstruction of an English Common Press be used to benefit the public?" Currently, my brief answer would be to say that the press could be used as an educational object for students, likely those in middle school. To support my answer to this question, I plan to utilize historical data & publications related to the subject of the English common press, current scholarly reports and articles relating to education, information gleaned from the curriculum of a local school & interviews with its teachers, and my own knowledge gained from personally working on the project. It's my hope that through researching & writing my thesis, I will be able to come up with a formula through which a variety of schools could utilize any reconstruction of a common press as a contextual device to better educate their students.

Thesis Topic

My thesis topic will be examining how museums handle displaying culturally sensitive objects. My thesis will focus specifically on the Rochester Museum and Science Center and will be a case study of how they go through the process of handling and exhibiting the Charlotte carousel panel. I do not yet have a working title title for my thesis, but have been attempting to throw some ideas around about that and should have one worked up by next week. The research question my thesis will address is "What are the best practices museums should abide by when exhibiting culturally sensitive objects?" I will attempt to answer it by doing the case study of the RMSC and by doing research on other institutions that have experienced similar issues. I will also be looking at the new National Museum of African American History and Culture to see how they have attempted to handle this problem. This is still a working question, and may be a bit broad, but for the moment, I think broad is good because it will encompass more research, and I can always narrow it down at a later point if necessary. As for research, I have found a number or journal articles that deal with this subject matter, and have compiled many newspaper articles and online commentary dealing with the carousel panel directly. I have attempted to make contact with some staff members at the NMAAHC and am currently waiting for their replies.

Senior Thesis - Chris Fisher

"Fiddle Tunes in Western New York and the People That Play Them" is my (very much a working) title. I plan on discussing not only the history of this music in the country but also the region. My intention is to find a group of people that are keeping the tradition alive in Western New York and record them in a podcast format. In the podcast, we will hear a version of the song played by these people and I will then talk about it, perhaps going into its history as well as discussing the relevance that the song has to this region. There are several notable scholars of this sort of music in the area, namely, the elusive Professor James Kimball. I have also attended several bluegrass jams in the area already to get a feel for exactly what sort of traditional songs are still being played. These have proven to be very useful, not only in terms of helping me learn more about the songs, but also in helping me build a network of people that could prove useful to this project.

Thesis topic

For my senior thesis topic, I have chosen food to be an overarching theme. Specifically, how museums are using food and alcohol to attract new audiences through experiential events. So far I have narrowed it down to an area that I have found little information about. I would like to look at the appropriateness of the use of these alcohol and food driven programs. There are areas on the spectrum of appropriateness that some museums do not pay attention to and tend to abuse this opportunity to gain attention that does not always fit their mission. An article that I was inspired by was this one here. Understandably, there does not seem to be many scholarly writings about this due to the recent shift with many museums. They are still piloting several of these programs and working through kinks that continue to pop up at museums across the country and presumably around the world.