Hello MUSE Bloggers!
If you don't already know me, I'm Sophie! I'm a fourth-year Museum Studies major, and I'm also double-minoring in History and Art History.
Before jumping into some ideas I have for my thesis, I think it would be nice to de-stress with a critter break!
Here is my lovely cat, Boba Joe, whom I am more than willing to share more of once this class starts to get stressful! She is 3 years old and a very silly creature!
Hi Everyone! I'm a 4th year (ish) Museum Studies major, and Metals and Jewelry minor, and I'm so excited for thesis! I know for a fact that I want to go into curation as a career after grad school, so doing an exhibit for my thesis would be perfect for me. Regarding topics, I'm set on the idea of doing something regarding alternative black fashion (Afrofuturism or Afropunk?) and interviewing artists/musicians and showcasing clothing as parts in my final presentation. Thesis seems a bit daunting, but I know that this project will turn out great, and I'll learn so much on the way!
Current (in progress) portfolio below:
https://gabrielleapayne.cargo.site/
Anddd pictures from the MET Superfine Exhibit (which is also a bit of inspo for my thesis)
Hi! I'm Christis Shepard, a fourth year Museum Studies major and Archeology minor! I've focused heavily on archives, collection management, and archeology while here at RIT! I plan on graduating this May so that's exciting! I hope to go onto graduate school for my Masters in a few years.
I plan to do my final thesis on the evolution of the cultures of the Aegean from the Bronze Age to the Hellenistic Era and how it's reflected on the literature and the archaeological record, with a focus on how it affected women. The culmination would be a exhibition proposal mock up done in Sketchup!
I've linked my website if anyone is curious about some of my other work:
Hi everyone!
I'm Rain, I'm an Anthropology and Museum Studies double major. I am doing my thesis on graphic communication as a form of resistance, with most of the focus likely being on North America and the Caribbean in the 19th-21st centuries. I came into MUSE-489 with a rough idea (and it very much still is) for my thesis that I was very passionate about doing and can't picture myself doing anything else. I feel very strongly about this topic because I believe that it would allow me to bring my majors together, through my love for research, in a way that also connects with my interests in bottom-up history and politics generally, which has followed me my whole life despite the amount of frustration it causes. The goal of this project is to understand how have ordinary people across North America and its margins have used forms of graphic communication as a way to resist oppression, express emotions, and exert agency over their own lives in times when they have felt powerless, divided, or outright ignored, and what lessons can we learn from these people to better convey our messages in a time where many feel the same? A few of the topics I would personally like to explore are poster art in post-revolution Cuba, anti-war art in the U.S. and Canada, Labor Union prints (specifically those of the Industrial Workers of the World), and I would like to incorporate anecdotal graphic communication (e.g. Diaries) as an example of resistance against manipulation of legacy, because resistance isn't always about resisting a tangible thing.
Hello! I am Faith Hurst and this is my 4th year at RIT. I was considering doing my project on zoos and aquariums, but I took a class on illuminated manuscripts this summer and im really interested in those right now. I'm particularly interested in the materials and inks/colors used when creating the illuminations. I was thinking my topic could be centered around museums research on conservation efforts surrounding illuminated manuscripts or maybe on museum's display and educational methods of illuminated manuscripts. I also thought I could do something relating to the Getty museum's vast manuscript collection.
Hello! This year I am in MUSE 489 and starting work on my thesis. As a Museum Studies and Advertising and Public Relations double major, I was a bit stuck on my idea. Last spring, I helped Dr. Decker with a sticker design for the MISHA Lab on Campus for their table at Imagine RIT, and I spent my summer co-op working on marketing. I decided that for my thesis I would like to create an advertising campaign for MISHA, as it would help me gain experience working on advertising and marketing, but from a cultural heritage perspective as I plan to work in the museums field. I enjoyed working with MISHA in IMGS 115: Cultural Heritage Imaging during my Fall 2024 Semester, as well as another project I worked on using MISHA during the Spring 2025 Semester. I feel that with my experience through class (while minimal) provides enough context and understanding for me to create an effective advertising campaign for the program. I came up with this idea over summer, and felt that a more hands on project would help provide real world experience and allow me to understand the function of advertising and marketing in a cultural heritage setting. I am looking forward to sharing my progress this semester!
Hello World!
My name is Alice! I am a 5th year Computer Science and Museum Studies double major with a recently declared (woah) cluster in cybersecurity! I started my MUSE journey as an immersion during my 1st year at RIT, and fell so in love with it that I decided I HAD to major in it, and with Dr.Decker's help, I was soon enrolled.
Hello! My name is Jacob Mutton, and I am a 4th-year Museum Studies major. I also work here at RIT in the RIT Archives!
For my topic, I'm currently narrowing down my options and ideas, and I should be making a decision soon!
Can't wait to start!
-Jacob M
Hi everyone, this semester is going to be a wild ride and I look forward to the discoveries we'll come across in the development of my thesis.
My main focus is to address the fragility of memory in the conversation of museums and history. How does nostalgia play a role in the power of display, and does it cloud our judgments both as the curatorial and museum staff, and has the viewer/visitor? These are just a few of the many questions I'll be tackling in my thesis and hopefully find an answer to.
"History 'does not refer merely, or even principally, to the past... historically it comes from he fact that we carry it within us, are unconsciously controlled by it... present in all we do.'" - Eric Foner
Hi readers! My name is Bella Paniccia, and I am a fourth-year Museum Studies major, anticipating graduation at the end of the Fall 2026 semester.
Currently, I am in the process of selecting a topic for my thesis. Since being here at RIT, I’ve developed a strong interest in art forms and materials and their connections to culture and society. I’ve particularly enjoyed studying conceptual art of the 1960s and 1970s, examining how cultural heritage and collecting are represented in film and media, and identifying pigments in artwork. Despite my indecisiveness, I am eager to start on this journey, as soon as I make up my mind, of course.
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Bella
