Study in Italy next summer!

NOW ACCEPTING UPPER-DIVISION UNDERGRADUATES  -- Art, art history, architecture, history, public history, literature, anthropology, classics, Italian -- ALL MAJORS WELCOME!

• Museum Origins: Study in Italy!
  Click here to watch a recorded online open house featuring Kiersten F. Latham, Ph.D., Assistant Professor; Kevin Steinbach, M.L.I.S. Student:
  http://w-slis-stream.slis.kent.edu/KSU/SilverlightPlayer/Default.aspx?peid=830aaea623bd4281ba284d9d1f94e72f
  

Download the PowerPoint presentation from the online open house.

Join the Museum Origins Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/236043106438169/

What better place to study the origin of museums than in Florence, Italy! Join the Kent State University School of Library and Information Science on a journey through the past to explore the ancestors of modern museums and their collections.

Registration is now closed for the summer 2013 class, but if you would like to receive information about next year's class (summer 2014), please provide contact information here. You'll receive information as soon as it becomes available, probably around December 2013.

Listen to what some of the students in the inaugural class (2012) have to say about Museum Origins in Florence, Italy:

  Chrissy Marquardt, Debbie Bussinger and Christine Bowersox

   Michelle Rucker

   Kevin Steinbach

Quick Links:

Museum Origins 2013 Overview - for reference only

Museum Studies at Kent State University SLIS

Course Details

Course: LIS 61095

Prerequisites: None

Class limit: 15 participants

Open to:

• Graduate students at any institution
• Alumni of any graduate program (master’s or Ph.D.)
• NOW ACCEPTING UPPER-DIVISION UNDERGRADUATES FROM ANY INSTITUTION, ANY MAJOR!
  

Itinerary in Florence:

• Morning: Visits to museums
• Afternoon: Discussions and lectures at Kent State Florence Palazzo de Cerchi
  

Deadlines:

• Late applications will not be considered.
• We are no longer accepting applications for 2013.
  

Cost estimate:

A cost estimate is offered in the Museum Origins 2013 Overview, along with a program description and application instructions. Note: Some costs are subject to the US$/Euro(€) exchange rate; if the rate changes greatly, a small adjustment to the Program Fee may be necessary. The data indicated here reflect our best estimates at this time and the current fluctuation of the US$/Euro(€) exchange rate. Assumed US$/Euro(€) = 1.38. All fees shaded in grey are non-refundable. 

Course Description

While the collecting of objects can be found as far back as ancient times in various parts of the world, the birth of the modern museum finds its roots in Europe, especially in Italy. In the context of today’s world, students will “go back in time” to understand the origins of Western museums and the meaning of publicly shared collections through a series of competing dualisms in knowledge creation and organization. Students will explore the history of the modern museum and spend two weeks visiting actual sites and collections that played a role in this history. Exploring the past in this way is geared specifically to help today’s museum workers gain a better understanding of their own role and purpose in their community, society and nation.

This course is part of a Museum Studies specialization within the Master of Library and Information Science degree at Kent State School of Library and Information Science. Museums, like libraries, are in the information business. The museum studies courses at Kent State employ a holistic approach to the study of museums as institutions that generate and perpetuate knowledge. Students will gain an understanding of museums in context as dynamic, interactive information systems composed of people, objects, and activities. Because the SLIS courses are structured within a library and information science framework, students are able to cut across the spectrum of traditional academic disciplines, which strengthens the skills of future museum professional by giving them a broader perspective, a larger knowledge base, and more flexibility. Students in the Museum Origins class do not need to be in the M.L.I.S. program, but should understand this unique approach to the discipline of museum studies.

Read more about the museum studies specialization at Kent State.

Questions? Contact Kiersten F. Latham, Ph.D., at kflatham@kent.edu, or the SLIS office at 330-672-2782 or slisinform@kent.edu.