Museums and Public History

INSTRUCTORS

Matti Bunzl and Nathaniel Prottas

COURSE DESCRIPTION

What does it mean to display public history? What role can a history museum play in making history accessible and exciting for wide audiences?  How is the work of the history museum distinct from that of the university? In this course we will explore the inner workings of the history museum, specifically the Wien Museum, Vienna’s city museum. During the course, students will be introduced the structure of the museum, from finance, to conservation, exhibition development, education, marketing, on-line strategies, and curatorial research. We will discuss how all the various departments of the museum work together and the many decisions that go into creating exhibitions, from graphic design and architecture to loans and public programming. Students will discover how the museum balances the care and protection of its historical objects with its mandate to make them accessible to the public.  Through site visits to the museums’ locations and meetings with a wide range of museum staff, students will learn what it takes to exhibit, research, and educate the public about history and consider the unique potential of the museum to make history relevant today.

LIST OF CLASSES

CLASS 1
The Structure of the Museum
Guest Speaker: Christina Schwarz, Financial Director, Wien Museum

CLASS 2
What is a Museum, and How is it not a University?
Guest Speaker: Andreas Nierhaus, Curator, Wien Museum

CLASS 3
What is an Object? And how do we care for it?
Guest Speaker: Tabea Rude, Conservatorr, Wien Museum

CLASS 4
Museum as a Place of Learning? The Roles of Museum Education

CLASS 5
Making History Work: The Inclusive Museum
Guest Speaker: Jennie Schellenbacher, Executive Aide & Accessibility Specialist, Wien Museum

CLASS 6
From Museum Theory to Exhibition Practice
Guest Speaker: Bärbl Schrems, Head of Production, Wien Museum

CLASS 7
Making History Public I: Visit to the Neidhart Festsaal
Guest Speaker: Michaela Kronberger, Curator and Head of Collections, Wien Museum

CLASS 8
Making History Public II: Visit to the Beethoven Museum
Guest Speaker: Lisa Noggler, Curator, Wien Museum

CLASS 9
Making History Public III: Visit to the Exhibition “Vienna Falls in Line”
Guest Speaker: Gerhard Milchram, Curator, Wien Museum

CLASS 10
The Future of the Museum