Museum Studies

Museum Management and Education

A critical analysis of every type of museum as a product or artefact of a certain culture.

Department of Museum Studies
ARH203 - Museum Management and Education

Course Description
This course explores museum management and planning with a focus on Education and the relation of museums with their audiences. Museums are today considered as cultural institutions with a social responsibility, and they are increasingly involved in lifelong learning. The course will analyze different areas of the museum organization, from visitors studies to marketing strategies, and from exhibition design to the management of educational activities. By examining case studies referring to diverse kind of museums (art, history, science, ethnography and others), the course will consider the specific needs posed by different audiences, ranging from children to elderly people, and from formal education groups to new citizens. It will discuss effective solutions to include marginal groups and “not visitors”. The course will also investigate how actively involve visitors in knowledge, with attention to the learning processes and the use of different communicative means: examples of good practice include creative workshops for children and adults, audiovisual means, mobile devices and distance learning through the web. The practices and the organization of Italian museums will be analyzed in a international comparative perspective. Through on-site visits to local museums and art institutions in Tuscany, students will gain direct knowledge of administrative structures and ideal guidelines of public foundations and institutions dedicated to preserve heritage and propagate culture.

Learning Outcomes
· To provide experience and exposure to professional work in a museum environment, by exploring the organization and functioning of museums .
· To expand knowledge of Tuscan and Sienese museums and galleries through on-site lectures and visits, engaging critically with the way in which these institutions communicate with the visiting public.
· To critically consider in which ways museums can contribute to lifelong learning and to social inclusion processes.
· To become familiar with the potential audiences of museums, with their needs and with the strategies to appeal them;
· To gain knowledge of a wide range of activities and good practices concerning communication and education in museums.

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