Museum Studies Blog

By Sarah Whaley The person at the neighboring sink kept throwing suspicious side eyes until they could no longer contain their question. “I’m sorry, what in the world is that?!” they asked incredulously. Emily Wilkes, curator of the Cultural Arts Gallery, and I were balancing a large glass jar under the faucet. As it filled, …

By Jackie Cain My week at the Eiteljorg started like any other, with a coffee, a bagel, and a mountain of emails to sort through. However, my day quickly fell into a fit of chaos when a co-worker approached me with the words that every collection worker dreads hearing, ‘I think we might have a …

By Corey Barber Throughout my time as the Collections Fellow at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, I have been able to take part in cleaning mold off a wide variety of objects. Caution must be taken when cleaning mold to limit risk to staff. Mold spores can be inhaled, especially when disturbing them for the …

By Madeline Griem When I was contacted about applying for an internship at the Zoo, I was confused and intrigued. I hold an undergraduate degree in history with minors in geography (focused on cultural geography) and anthropology; not exactly zoology or environmental science, which most people would think would be more applicable. Despite being concerned …

Museum Mercenary: A Handbook for Independent Museum Professionals by Rebecca Migdal. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield, 2020. REVIEWED BY MARISSA HAMM Every aspiring museum professional has heard about the multitude of difficulties they will face when trying to enter the field. In Museum Mercenary, Rebecca Migdal presents her solution to this issue of limited full-time museum …

Museums as Agents of Change: A Guide to Becoming a Changemaker, written by Mike Murawski. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2021. REVIEWED BY PEYTON REICHERTS Mike Murawski’s Museums as Agents of Change: A Guide to Becoming a Changemaker is about how museum workers can become changemakers. Murawski has had many roles in the museum profession. Currently, …

Curating America’s Painful Past, by Tim Gruenewald. Lawrence, Kansas: University of Kansas Press, 2020. REVIEWED BY MADELINE GRIEM The United States is a place of deeply painful pasts. However, there are few prominent spaces in which these subjects are explored where they will contribute to national memory. In his 2020 book, Curating America’s Painful Past: Memory, …

Museum Diplomacy: Transnational Public History and the U.S. Department of State. written by Richard K. Harker. Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts Press. 2020 REVIEWED BY JOHN TERWILLIGER Richard Harker’s Museum Diplomacy: Transnational Public History and the U.S. Department of State gives a detailed critical analysis of the Museums Connect program. Museums Connect, founded in 2008, was …

Museum Objects, Health and Healing, edited by Brenda Cowan, Ross Laird, and Jason McKeown. New York: Routledge, 2020. REVIEWED BY ELISE DAUGHERTY   Humans interact with and value objects in every aspect of our lives. In many interactions, objects hold meaning and power, impacting our health and wellbeing. Brenda Cowan, Ross Laird, and Jason McKeown …