FALL 2005
From the Director
It is very exciting to launch this first Art History and Museum Studies Newsletter of student and alumnae news, even from a distance. As most of you know, I am on sabbatical for the academic year (fall 2005-spring 2006) writing a book on American memorials tentatively titled, The Past Is Always Changing. Nevertheless, I am in touch with many of you through Lise Kjaer, who keeps all things moving, and Prof. Jeffrey Feldman who is directing the program in my absence. In addition to the required museum studies introduction and exhibition analysis seminars, he is also advising and teaching two "special topics" courses: Museums, Politics and Controversy (Fall 05), and Exhibiting the Past (Spring 06).
Our alums now include two museum directors: Wesley Jessup (2001), Pasadena Museum of California Art and Teresa Velasquez, Villadolid Museum of Contemporary Art (Spain). In 2001 Debra Willis won the prestigious MacArthur "Genius" Award. She is the author of Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers 1840 to the Present.
This newsletter is a start. We plan to publish one newsletter each semester. But we can only do that if you keep us posted with additions and changes to your status. Urge your friends to do the same. And let us know what else you would like to see.
- Dr. Harriet F. Senie
Director of Museum Studies
Professor of Art History
Semester and Upcoming Events
On November 3, 2005, Prof. Jeffrey Feldman hosted our MA Thesis Workshop. This annual event introduced students to basics of writing a successful MA Thesis, including the best way to find a topic, the "do's and don'ts" of assembling and working with a Thesis Committee, and a blueprint for becoming an independent researcher and writer.
On December 10, 2006 Prof. Feldman's Introduction to Museology seminar will lead the third annual graduate student Museum Studies symposium in collaboration with the Graduate Program at New York University, and the International Coalition for Historic Sites of Conscience. The focus of this year's program will be "Museums and Civic Engagement." City College students will address a variety of topics of interest to the contemporary museum profession, including: ethnicity and identity at El Museo del Barrio, museums and public art, The Studio Museum and neighborhood engagement, house museums and their publics, stolen art at The Modern, and memorial exhibitions at The District Six Museum in South Africa. The symposium will take place at the NYU Silver Center (Room 301 11am-5pm) and it promises to be a fantastic day of scholarship and collegiality. All are welcome!