ARH5049 THE AMERICAN MUSEUM TODAY
An art museum fulfills many roles for its audience: it preserves-in some cases embodies-our shared cultural heritage; it serves as a center of education and scholarship; it provides a haven for relaxation and reflection. This course will consider the issues involved in founding and running such a complex public institution, discussing not only the practicalities of organizing and displaying a collection but also investigating the societal, sometimes political aims of these institutions. We will meet four days in New York City to explore world-renowned art collections like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art as well as smaller organizations with strong identities such as the Neue Galerie and the Jewish Museum to determine how the staffs of these institutions present the objects in their care and convey information about them. Four classes, three lectures and a concluding discussion, will meet at the Manhattanville College campus.