preservation audiovisual film motion picture training education masters degree digital copyright conservation
H72. 1801. 719: Contemporary Cultural Institutions (2 points)
Professor Antonia Lant
Class meets in 721 Broadway, Room 003 (in basement), various Mondays during the semester, 10:00-2:00 pm. Lant office hours: 721 Broadway, Rm. 627, Tues, 4:45-6:00 pm and by appointment. Tel: 8-1612 Email: antonia.lant@nyu.edu
Course Description:
This course studies the different kinds of institutions that collect and manage moving image material: museums of art, natural history, and motion pictures; libraries and historical societies; corporate institutions. It compares and contrasts these types of institution to reveal how they differ from one another. It examines their organizational structures (including trends in staffing and the roles of individual departments), their respective missions and operational ethics, their fund-raising strategies, and their audiences and outreach efforts. Aspects of project management and the handling of competing interests within an organization may also be considered.
Student requirements:
- an observational study of two cultural institutions for in-class presentation (20%);
- a detailed study of a museum of the moving image and its history, for presentation in the last class (40%); Note when final report is due.
- current news on cultural institutions. Each student needs to submit to me (by email, or hard copy), four items/articles on topics relevant to the course, 2 before midterm, and 2 by the end of the semester (10%).
- class attendance, keeping up with the readings, presenting readings, participation in class, including during field trips (20%).
- 1–2 pages of comments, emailed to me, of your observations following the fieldtrips to MMI and AMNH (10%), due one week after the visit.
No incompletes are accepted for this class.
NB: The readings and topics on this syllabus may be added to, and change during the semester. Students are responsible for following such changes. In addition, due to variations in the lengths of discussion, questions, and visual materials, we may not actually discuss all the readings listed in the syllabus. However, they are important and their content supports the class assignments.
Readings:
All readings have been put on reserve at Bobst.Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is the presentation of somebody else's work as your own. This is a very serious fault, and against NYU rules, whether it is unintended (e.g. occurs through poor citations and confusion about how to reference somebody elseÕs scholarship), or derives from out and out copying (such as downloading essays from the internet). Plagiarism includes using portions of a previously published work in a paper without citing the source, submitting a paper written for another course, submitting a paper written by someone else, and using the ideas of someone else without attribution. Plagiarism is unacceptable in this class and is punished severely. Please ask for help, by email or in person, if you are unclear as to how to cite othersÕ work. Anybody who is caught plagiarizing will fail the course and be subject to disciplinary action through the university.
Class 1) Mon 28 Jan. Memory Organizations.
- The French National Library--Biblioth¸que Nationale
- Comparative analysis of different types of institution.
- What institutions collect moving images?
- Discussion of observational study assignments.
Film:
- Alain Resnais, Toute la mˇmoire du monde (1956, 21 minutes, black and white, VHS).
Read:
- Hein, Hilde S. "Introduction: From Object to Experience" in The Museum in Transition: A Philosophical Perspective. (Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2000): 1–16.
- Weil, Stephen E. "The Proper Business of the Museum: Ideas or Things?" in Rethinking the Museum and Other Meditations. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1990: 43–56.
- Alexander Howarth, "The Market vs. the Museum," Journal of Film Preservation (Nov 2005). http://www.fiafnet.org/pdf/uk/fiaf70.pdf
- Nicola Mazzanti, "Response to Alexander Howarth," Journal of Film Preservation (Nov 2005).
Class 2) Mon 11 Feb, Site visit to MMI. NB: 12–4:00 pm.
Museum entrance is on 35th Avenue at the corner of 36th Street in Astoria. Use the R or V to Steinway subway stop in Queens. There is an R station opposite TSOA. Allow 40 minutes travel time from TSOA.
- review MMI website
- Reshaping Museum Space: Architecture, Design, Exhibitions ed. Suzanne MacLeod (Routledge: NY, 2005), Ch. 9 (Lee H. Skolnick, "Towards a New Museum Architecture: narrative and representation"). Ch. 16 (Peter Higgins, "From Cathedral of culture to anchor attractor"), Ch. 17 (Stephen Greenberg, "The Vital Museum").
Class 3) Mon 25 Feb Observational Studies. Student presentations.
Read:
- Falk, John H., "Pushing the Boundaries: Assessing the Long-term Impact of Museum Experiences," in Current Trends in Audience Research and Evaluation (vol. II) (AAM Committee on Audience Research and Evaluation: LA, May 1998): 1–5.
- Korn, Randi, et. al. "Perceptions and Attitudes about Modern Art," in Current Trends in Audience Research and Evaluation (vol. II) (AAM Committee on Audience Research and Evaluation: LA, May 1998): 36–42.
- Gyllenhaal, Eric. D. "Communicating Behind-the-Scenes Research to Museum Visitors: Evaluations of Temporary Exhibitions at the Field Museum," in Current Trends in Audience Research and Evaluation (vol. II) (AAM Committee on Audience Research and Evaluation: LA, May 1998): 15–24.
- Korn, Randi, "Studying your Visitors: Where to Begin," History News 49:2 (March/April 1994).
Class 4) Mon 10th March, 10:00-2:00. Visit American Museum of Natural History, hosted by Barbara Mathe. Meet at the Museum at 10:00 am. More precise instructions to follow by email.
Read:
- Review the website for American Museum of Natural History.
- Kevin F. McCarthy, et al. Gifts of the Muse: Reframing the Debate about the Benefits of the Arts ((Rand: Santa Monica, 2004): Ch 1, 2, 5. (Read more if time.))
17-21 March, Spring Break.
Week of 24 March, if not before, required visit to Lant office hours.Class 5) Mon 24 March. Organizational Structures of Institutions; their Ethics and Values.
Guest:
- Michael Stoller, Director of Collections and Research Services, Bobst Library
Film:
- No screening.
Read:
- on–line mission statements of FIAF, American Association of Museums (AAM), AIC (American Institute of Conservators), SCMS and AMIA.
- Malaro, Marie C. ((2002). "Legal and Ethical Foundations of Museum Collecting Policies" in Lipinski, Tomas (ed.) Libraries, Museums, and Archives: Legal Issues and Ethical Challenges in the New Information Era, Lantham, MD: Scarecrow, pp 69–82.
- Kurin, Richard. "Exhibiting the Enola Gaye" in Reflections of a Culture Broker: A View From the Smithsonian. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1997, pp 71–82.
- Krug, Judith ((2002). "Censorship and Controversial Materials in Museums, Libraries, and Archives" in Lipinski, Tomas (ed.) Libraries, Museums, and Archives: Legal Issues and Ethical Challenges in the New Information Era, Lantham, MD: Scarecrow, pp 59–68.
- Woodbury, Marsha ((2002). "The Fight of the Century? Information Ethics versus E-Commerce" in Lipinski, Tomas (ed.) Libraries, Museums, and Archives: Legal Issues and Ethical Challenges in the New Information Era, Lantham, MD: Scarecrow, pp 177–192.
- Iverson, Sandy. "Librarianship and Resistance." Progressive Librarian 15 (Winter 1998/99).
- Ernst van de Wetering, "Conservation-restoration ethics and the problem of modern art" from Modern Art: Who Cares? http://www.incca.org/Dir003/INCCA/CMT/text.nsf/0/86F3B66ED79F222AC1256E450036A6B9?opendocument (not on reserve).
- The FIAF Code of Ethics: http://www.fiafnet.org/uk/members/ethics.cfm
- ALA''s Code of Ethics: http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/codeofethics/codeethics.htm