Sean
H. Gao
Foundations of Museums & Digital Culture
To help build a solid foundation for this program, getting familiarized with information, museums, and digital culture is crucial in the first semester of this program. Understanding and articulating the role of information, as well as digital technologies in shaping the evolving social role can be influential to the future practice of being professionals at museums and related cultural heritage institutions.
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[ Referred Courses ]
Museums and Digital Culture - Sara DeYoung
Foundation of Information - Irene Lopatovska
Museums & Digital Culture: Theory and Practice introduces the theory and practice of museums and digital culture and to current research in the field. It also detailed explained how and where digital culture is transforming museums across the full range of museum functions and activities, and become familiar with the digital tools and technologies that engage and inform museum visitors. The course also gives a broad overview of the field's development, and examines the issues and challenges museums face today and moving into the future. It connects digital culture across the museum from the perspectives of digital technology and social contexts including digital information behavior, user experience, digital exhibitions and museums on the Web.
Three thematic modules applied alongside the course design are:
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the history and role of museums in society;
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guiding principles (mission, vision, values, and strategic planning);
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digital as change agent.
Foundations of Information is focuses on the roleplay of people, information, and technologies with theoretical and conceptual connections in the information field. It introduced historical developments and concepts that can inform future specializations and provide possible strategies for ongoing professional growth and development. It covered major frameworks of the information field and helped with practical developments in critical thinking, communication, research, management and presentation perspectives.
These two courses corresponded with each other to help build a concrete introduction individually, transitioning from art-based undergraduate studies to the museum world, through well-prepared lectures and various site-visit opportunities.
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The MDC class paves the way for how the early museums emerged and developed, how their collecting practice worked, and how the works in the institutions gradually form professionally. The class also illustrates how the power and role of museums in society in both the old days and contemporary practices. Site visits in this class include the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA), the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), the Rubin Museum, and the Brooklyn Museum.
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The Foundation of Information class describes various aspects of the information environment applied nowadays, getting familiarized with professional perceptions on analyzing, evaluating, and contextualizing information views.
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[ Learning outcomes ]​
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Individual case study[Download File] on how the Chinese cultural heritage is presented and preserved in the United States.
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Professional interview with Associate Curator at the Department of Chinese Decorative Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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Research article[Download File] on reviewing an issue or trend in the information field, targeted in the virtual museums overcoming the challenges of the pandemic.
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Field observations and reports on detailed visit notes about the onsite experience, digital equipment/facility provided, information displays, online findings, etc.
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Professional activity participation in the career fair held by the MET.
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