Public programs facilitate dialogue between academics and professionals, informing scholarship and strengthening practice.
Multiple day conferences, year-long colloquia, individual lectures, “conversations” between individuals, hands-on workshops, and Museums at Noon talks featuring our graduate students all contribute to the remarkable richness of MSP offerings.
Video recordings of some MSP lectures are archived for viewing in our Media Gallery.
Museums at Noon
Visual Culture in India and the Museum
University of Michigan Museum of Art, First Floor, Multi-Purpose Room 525 South State Street, Ann Arbor, MI, United StatesAlison Byrnes, a member of the 2006 MSP cohort, recently returned from seven years teaching in India, where she initiated a new Museum Studies Program. She will discuss museums in India through the lens of visuality. There is a mismatch between the cultural signals...
The Smithsonian Institution and the Making of the American Nonprofit Sector
When Englishman James Smithson left $500,000 to the United States of America to establish the Smithsonian Institution in 1829, he improbably forced the United States Congress to design America's first national benevolent institution. This talk will address how Congress came to a decision about...
Detroit 67: Looking Back to Move Forward – Community Engagement at the Detroit Historical Society
University of Michigan Museum of Art, First Floor, Multi-Purpose Room 525 South State Street, Ann Arbor, MI, United StatesIn 2015, Detroit Historical Society began a multi-year community engagement project to commemorate the upcoming 50th anniversary of the civil unrest of July 1967. Called Detroit 67: Looking Back to Move Forward, the project’s purpose is to bring together diverse voices and communities...
Growing Protocols: Documenting the Collaborative Process within the Heritage Seeds for Sustainable Lifeways Project
U-M Museum of Art, Helmut Stern Auditorium 525 S. State St., Ann Arbor, MI, United StatesPresentation by Elspeth Geiger, PhD candidate, Anthropology Friday, September 29 from 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm, UM Museum of Art auditorium Growing Protocols: Documenting the Collaborative Process within the Heritage Seeds for Sustainable Lifeways Project Collaboration between museums and Native American communities has...
The Museum Further Afield: Conservation, Art, and Archaeology
U-M Museum of Art, Helmut Stern Auditorium 525 S. State St., Ann Arbor, MI, United StatesPresentation by Suzanne Davis, Associate Curator, Kelsey Museum of Archaeology. Friday, October 20 from 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm, UM Museum of Art auditorium The Museum Further Afield: Conservation, Art, and Archaeology When we think and talk about museums, we are often focused...
What Happens When a Museum Is Something Other than a Museum?
Presentation by Zachary Kopin, PhD, History Friday, November 3 from 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm, UM Museum of Art auditorium What Happens When a Museum Is Something Other than a Museum? Constitution Hill was once a notorious prison in colonial and apartheid South...
Narrative and Nationalism: Islamic Science in American Museum Practice
Presentation by Amanda Respess, PhD candidate, Anthropology and History Friday, November 17 from 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm, UM Museum of Art auditorium Narrative and Nationalism: Islamic Science in American Museum Practice Artifacts important to the history of science in Islamicate societies occupy...
Digital Aspirations: The Design of an Online Exhibit at a Site of Conscience in Nicaragua
Presentation by Allan Martell, PhD candidate, Information Friday, December 8 from 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm, UM Museum of Art auditorium Digital Aspirations: The Design of an Online Exhibit at a Site of Conscience in Nicaragua Sites of conscience serve the public by...
Museums at Noon – Postponed!
University of Michigan Museum of Art, First Floor, Multi-Purpose Room 525 South State Street, Ann Arbor, MI, United StatesPresented by Mark Auslander, Director of Michigan State University Museum co-sponsored by the UM Department of Afroamerican and African Studies Previously schedued for Friday, February 9 at 12:00 pm in the UM Museum of Art Multi-Purpose Room (125) - new date to be...
Museums as Sites of Healing: Empathy, Repair, and Critical Reflection
University of Michigan Museum of Art, First Floor, Multi-Purpose Room 525 South State Street, Ann Arbor, MI, United StatesWhat are the ethical responsibilities of university museums when our local communities face profound crises and occasions of injustice? How might we foster compassion and promote conversations that can build enduring community bonds, while honoring our academic commitments to promoting critical analysis and stewardship...
