Welcome to the Museum Studies blog at the University of Michigan!
Museums today are more dynamic than ever: in addition to being a site for the collection, study, and exhibition of objects, they have become vital arenas for civic life and community participation. This blog brings together the Graduate Certificate Program and Undergraduate Minor in Museum Studies to share museum happenings, research, and commentary. Our goal is to connect members of the museum community both at UM and in Southeast Michigan more broadly. Check back regularly for student reflections, exhibition reviews, internship/practicum experiences, alumni spotlights, and more. To submit an entry for inclusion on this page, please contact us at MSPBlogEditor@umich.edu.
Setting out for my visit to Hadrian’s Wall and the nearby museums, I didn’t expect to find myself stuck outside on a dark rainy evening after my Airbnb for the night fell through. Luckily, I found a pub that was willing to put...
I have long dreamed of pursuing a research project in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, where my academic research interests lie and where I also have deep personal connections. However, with funding constraints and coronavirus pandemic realities, I knew that this would probably remain just that—a...
Familial Memory & Foundations of Schooling As an African American girl growing up on the Southside of Chicago, I knew nearly nothing about my family’s past. I knew, in the 1950s, my mother, her siblings, and my grandparents fled rural Alabama for Chicago. My...
I applied for a job as a docent at the Detroit Observatory on a whim. Very quickly, it became a major component of my day-to-day life. I helped to update historic campus tours and design new ones, give lecture-style presentations, and facilitate the various...
Around the same time I was hired by UM’s Institute for Research on Women and Gender (IRWG) as the Graduate Fellow for Exhibits, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine is an important place to me. I spent a year there in...
Digitization – the act of creating digital, virtual models of existing museum objects and displays – within the museum space can sometimes be a contentious topic. Curators and museum professionals champion the immersive experience that accompanies a traditional in-person visit, as many exhibits rely...
