What Museum Jobs are out there?

Museum job titles and focus areas have been shifting over the last decade, responding in part to the expanding functions of museums in relation to audiences and interpretation. One of the key resources to learn more about what jobs exist (and are available) is the American Alliance of Museum's Job Board (called Job HQ): http://aam-us-jobs.careerwebsite.com/c/search_results.cfm?site_id=8712

Visit the site and explore. What is the range of job openings? Do they cluster around certain departments? What do the job openings say about the needs and/or nature of museums today? Or even about specific institutions themselves?

Respond in at least 4 sentences, noting examples of jobs you discover, including what museum listed the opening(s). Upload no later than 5pm, Monday, September 21.

The Primary Focus of a Museum

Thinking about our discussions in class about the concept of museums as temples for the elite protecting objects or as pleasers of "the lowest common denominator," what do you think should be the main focus of a museum? How could such a primary focus be communicated effectively to an audience? Use examples. Please respond in at least four (4) sentences, and upload to this blog no later than Monday, September 14, 5 pm. Thanks!

Thinking About Museums: Your Personal Perspective

Based on your personal experience with museums, what are they doing right? And what do you think they are doing not so well? Finally, what do you think is the biggest challenge museums face today? Please answer in at least four sentences, and upload no later than Monday, September 7, 5pm.

Welcome to Class: Time to Speak Out on All Things Museum

Welcome members of the JMU Introduction to Museum Work class

This blog is an extension of our classroom discussions, a way for you to continue to engage the issues and ideas that come up during our time together.

Your input here is important, as museums are crazy animals, institutions where what the audience experiences often is very different from what happens behind-the-scenes.

And as you will discover during the course of the class, which will combine readings and history with "real world" case studies, museums are more than institutions. They are a window onto a tangled world where art meets social assumptions, cultural expectations, budget realities, and where ideal "best practices" can take a back seat to "the opening is in 10 minutes!"

This IS part of your grade, but more important, it is a chance to rethink what you thought you knew about museums, and with this more expansive (eyes-wide-open) approach, see "museum studies" in a whole new light.

Thanks for participating, and let's see where our discussions take us!

Leah