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Nov 27, 2024
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2023-2024 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Museum Anthropology Concentration
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Students who are working towards an MA in Anthropology may also elect to complete a concentration in Museum Anthropology. This concentration provides students with experiences in analyzing the representation, exhibition, and curation of material culture. Museums are integral to establishing authority over knowledge with respect to what is displayed and how it is exhibited. Cultural patrimony, nationalism, identity, and cultural meaning are not only represented, but also created in the materials shown to the general public. Therefore, museums are contested places where knowledge is available for consumption, where peoples and objects are viewed, and where ideas about the world are formulated. In adopting an anthropological approach to museums, this concentration is distinct from generalized museum studies; museum anthropologists examine curation, exhibition, and museum practice from a comparative and global perspective that interrogates museums as dynamic institutions embedded in particular social and cultural contexts. Emphasis is on both the role of museums in producing anthropological knowledge and the use of anthropological theory to contextualize and critique museum practices in diverse settings. Options for the concentration are four-field and include independent fieldwork in osteology, paleoanthropology, archaeology or bioarchaeology using museum or laboratory collections, an internship at a museum, analyses of visual, aural, and/or material culture at a museum, cultural resource management, NAGPRA compliance, and studies of identity, cultural patrimony, nationalism, and the production of knowledge at one or more museums. Students complete the concentration by undertaking a focused course of study within their overall MA program. There is no special application process other than that for the MA program, but students should declare their intention to complete this program of study upon entry to the MA program.
- All students must complete a minimum of 36 credit hours of graduate-level coursework (6000-8000 level only), with a maximum of two non-anth courses. No course may fulfill more than one requirement, with the possible experience of the Museum Experience course. In some cases, museum anthropology students may be required to complete 39 total credit hours in order to satisfy all requirements.
- The following courses count as museum anthropology concentration options (Students should consult the most recent Department of Anthropology M.A. handbook for an updated list of approved Museum Anthropology specialization/ elective courses):
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Degree Requirements
Museum anthropology students must devote 18 of their total anthropology MA course credits to the concentration. Both thesis and Capstone students may elect the concentration. Students who wish to apply courses other than those listed below toward their Museum Anthropology concentration should consult with the graduate director (for instance, a student may elect to do a museum-focused project in their subfield’s theory course, or in ANTH 8000 “Anthropological Theory and Praxis,” and obtain permission for this course to count as a museum anthropology course).
Required Courses (6 Hours)
Elective Courses (12 Hours)
Methods Courses
Select one course from the following as relevant to the student’s MA concentration.
Archaeology
Biological Anthropology
Cultural Anthropology and Linguistic Anthropology
Theory Courses
Select one course from the following as relevant to the student’s MA concentration.
Archaeology
Biological Anthropology
Cultural Anthropology & Linguistic Anthropology
- There are no museum anthropology theory courses in these subfields. Students who wish to apply a listed cultural anthropology theory course toward their Museum Anthropology concentration should consult with the graduate director.
Museum Anthropology Courses
Additional 6000/8000-Level Anthropology Courses
Additional 6000/8000-level anthropology courses in area of specialization to achieve at least 36 semester hours for the thesis option and 36 semester hours for the Capstone option. Up to six hours of graduate courses may be taken outside the anthropology program.
Museum Experience Requirement
All museum anthropology students must enroll in ANTH 8070 - Museum Experience 3 credit hours. This course provides credit for a student museums-focused project, usually under the advisement of an anthropology faculty member. Students should enroll in this course after planning a project in consultation with museum anthropology faculty. On a case-by-case basis (to be determined by the graduate director in consultation with museum anthropology faculty and a student’s thesis chair/ capstone advisor), ANTH 8070 may be used to satisfy the Research Skills Requirement OR as a replacement for ANTH 8970 - Thesis Prospectus 3 Credit Hours.
Research Skills Requirement
Proficiency in an approved research skill. This requirement can be fulfilled by an approved research skills course or by demonstrated proficiency in a language other than English. A course outside of the unit pertaining to the interests of the student might satisfy this requirement with a museum-focused course.
Thesis Option
Thesis Prospectus
Choose one of the following:
Thesis Research
Thesis Writing and Oral Thesis Defense
Choose one of the following.
Capstone Option
A capstone project must be completed in the final semester, including a public presentation of the capstone project. There are no additional credit hours associated with the capstone project.
Thesis Option
Oral defense of thesis. Capstone option: public presentation of capstone project.
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