The Home Stretch

My first full draft has been submitted and I am turning my attention to my poster now. I still have some work that needs to be done for my paper, such as finalizing the pictures I want to use, and adding in some small sections here and there, but for the most part, all of the content is there. I am looking forward to getting the feedback from my advisers so I can really fine tune it. My poster draft is coming along, I have a much  better idea of the content I want to include and how I want to lay it out. I have not added added the content to my template, but I am confident in what the final product will be. I am looking forward to getting feedback from the Museum Studies faculty and alumni at our presentation next week.

Intercession Plans

My plan of work for intercession is as follows:

Week of Dec. 18^th:

-       Take advice and feedback from final session of class and make appropriate changes to current work

-      -Continue research

Week of Dec. 25^th:

-       Finish reading “From Storefront to Monument”

-       Continue research

Week of Jan. 1^st:

-       Finish reading “Understanding Jim Crow”

-       Continue research

Week of Jan 8^th:

-       Finish reading “Routledge Companion to Museum Ethics”

-       Set up meeting/interview time with Kathryn Murano-Santos

Week of Jan 15^th:

-       Revise and make additions to lit review – specifically add an overview of museum ethics

-       Begin writing first draft of introduction

Week of Jan 22^nd:

-       Finish writing first draft of introduction before first day of class

-       Get signatures from Juilee Decker and Michael Brown on proposal

k    My goal for my thesis over break is to regularly allocate time each week to addressing the hurdles listed. During the semester, I couldn't focus 100% on my thesis because I had four other classes and work that took up most of my time. Over intercession, I will not have nearly as many distractions and I am confident I will be able to make quite a bit of progress. I plan on contacting Kathryn Murano-Santos at the RMSC to at least set up a meeting/interview time, if not have the meeting/interview over break as well. This will be a big item checked off the list, as the information she will give me about the panel and the RMSC will be the basis for a large portion of my thesis.

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Thesis Evolution

My thesis project has been moving right along, and I am happy with where it is heading. My initial thought process was not very specific, all I knew was that the carousel panel was something that interested me and I thought it would make a good thesis topic. I have honed the research question and have settled on "What are the best practices for displaying or exhibiting racist or offensive objects and memorabilia in museums?" I decided to make the question specifically about racist objects (depictions of African Americans and slave objects in particular) so that my research can be very focused. But, I believe that while this research will be specific, the themes discussed and best practiced devised from it will be able to be applied to sensitive or offensive objects of all facets (e.g. gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, etc.).

The research I have done thus far has been very enlightening, and the case studies I have looked at have been quite informative. While approaches may differ, there seems to be an over arching agreement that honesty is the most important aspect when interpreting these objects. Being upfront about what they are, what they represent, and their place in our country's history seems to be the way to go. I look forward to continuing my research and watching my project come along. I am excited to get started on my case study at the RMSC and see how a local institution attempts to grapple with this issue that has arisen in our own backyard.

What I've learned so far

So far, in my research, I have learned quite a bit about my topic. The main thing I have learned is there is a lot of case specific information about exhibitions that have displayed culturally sensitive or provocative objects. Not all of them have to do with African American or racist art/objects, but there are many examples to study within the broad spectrum of my topic. I have also learned a lot about the history of African American/racist art/objects. It is quite fascinating to delve deep into this subject, and it is also interesting to look at this topic from multiple view points. I am gathering a lot of good information and I am beginning to formulate an outline of how I want to lay out my thesis. I am also figuring out how to separate my sources according to topics and themes.

For my thesis, I still need to finish my reading and research. I need to learn proper format and citation methods. I also would like to find more scholarship on displaying racist objects. I have attempted to contact both the Jim Crow Museum and the National Museum of African American History and Culture to see if they have any information for me, but unfortunately, have not yet heard back from either. I am still hopeful that I will though, these requests can sometimes take a bit of time.

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.

Potential Thesis Topic

As I stated in class, I am fairly certain I want my thesis topic to be on museum ethics and cultural sensitivity within exhibitions. I would like to do a case study of the Rochester Museum and Science Center and how they handle exhibiting the Charlotte carousel panel. I have a description of the situation in my first post, but if you are unfamiliar with it, you can read up on it here. I, of course, still need to clear this idea with the RMSC and get permission to pursue it, but I am planning on beginning my research for this topic now. I aim to use all the newspaper articles and news coverage of this I can gather, as well as finding journal articles about other case studies of similar situations for comparison. Because I am an intern at the RMSC, I have access to the panel itself, as well as the staff handling the storage, care and exhibition of the panel. I plan to use the staff as references as well, through interviews and conversations I have with them. I think I have a good handle on my potential topic, and am very excited to see where this research takes me.