Critical Museum Studies

reimagining the museum

Explore museum histories through an interdisciplinary, decolonial approach with a Critical Museum Studies minor. You'll engage in detailed examinations of the ways institutionalized racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism and classism have shaped histories of collecting, archiving and exhibiting. Throughout the program, you'll think and write critically about museum discourses while gaining hands-on experience with the fundamental skills necessary for careers in a variety of cultural institutions including collections handling, installation, preventive conservation and specialized writing.

Critical Museum Studies News

Student SpotlightImportant Experiences

Erin Hulburt '26
Collections Management Post-baccalaureate Fellow

Erin Hulburt '26 is serving a nine-month appointment as the Collection Management Post-Baccalaureate Fellow at the Davis Art Gallery at HWS. Working under the Visual Arts Curator, Erin focuses on the day-to-day care and management of the HWS' Art Collection. In this role, Erin handles essential responsibilities including cataloging and database upkeep, preventive conservation monitoring, processing loans, maintaining storage facilities and mentoring student workers. Overall, the fellowship provides Erin with valuable hands-on experience in professional collection-management practices and recognized museum standards.

Adriana Croce '25
majors: Art History, French and Francophone Studies
minor: critical museum studies

As a co-director of the Provenzano Art Gallery, Adriana gained experience in museum curation by designing and planning an exhibit, helping prepare her for a future career.

Read About Adriana CMST Student Ambassador Program

Experiential EducationHands on Creation

Studying Critical Museum Studies at Hobart and William Smith means exploring art institutions up close. Intern at the Colleges' Davis Art Gallery. Work with local artists at the Dove Block Project. Visit galleries in New York City or do research at the Women's Rights National Historical Park.

At Hobart and William Smith, learning goes beyond textbooks and classrooms. You’ll gain high-impact practical experience that deepens learning and opens doors to career opportunities.

See the opening of the provenzano gallery

provenzano art gallery

Opened in Fall 2022, the Provenzano Student Art Gallery (PSAG) is an exciting new student-run space at the heart of campus in the Scandling Center. The Gallery is staffed through six half-credit internship positions that are available each semester: two gallery directors, two gallery managers, and two exhibitions and installation coordinators. Students are selected from a pool of applicants generated from a campus-wide call open to folks in all disciplines. The student-intern staff work collaboratively to plan, design, install, coordinate and promote a series of art exhibitions and events of their choosing. The process of selecting the student work featured in the space is facilitated entirely by the interns who write and distribute calls for art, ideally in conversation with student groups or other campus collaborators with a shared investment in supporting the arts on campus in an inclusive and equitable manner.

Interns are supervised by the PSAG faculty coordinator, a two-year appointment open to faculty from within any discipline. Currently, Associate Professor of Art and Architecture Angelique Szymanek is serving in this role. Faculty, students and staff with an interest in using this space for events, collaborative projects, pedagogical initiatives or other activities are encouraged to reach out to Szymanek to coordinate. The space remains an important hub for Student Activities and can also be booked for events via 25Live.

Davis Art Gallery Dove Block Project Women's Rights National Historical Park Explore and Experience at the HWS Centers

No Borders:Global Education

Explore world famous museums in Rome or the legacy of colonization in collections in England.

Wherever you go, our top-ranked global education program will allow you to apply classroom knowledge, develop cultural understanding and build global connections that expand your personal capacity and sense of purpose.

Study Abroad Options

Belonging, Diversity and Equity

Critical Museum Studies emphasizes the examination of ways that histories of colonization have shaped the material circulation of ideas and culture, including practices of collecting, conservation, exhibition and public programming. The classes in this program address issues including systemic racism, gender inequity and classism, among other issues of social injustice and their numerous intersections.

Discover the wide-branching and expansive reach of the world of museums.

See below for sample courses:

CMST 213 Reclaiming African Artefacts

Study why colonial powers looted African cultural artefacts while dismissing indigenous cultures as inferior, and western "universal museums" still refuse to return these stolen items.

cmst 214 introduction to critical museum studies

Gain an introduction to the history and theory of museums, institutional collecting and the interpretation of culture.

CMST 220 Introduction to Collections Management & Preventative Conservation

An introducton to the basics of collections management, documentation and preventive conservation.

anth 273 research methods

Learn the basic issues and fundamental trends of social research, including the logic of inquiry, research design and sampling in social data.

Critical Museum Studies Courses and Curriculum Critical Museum Studies Faculty Directory

Alum Impact

HWS alums work in a wide variety of museums, galleries and cultural institutions. After studying Critical Museum Studies, you'll have the skills to work at locations including:

Addison Art Gallery
Archives of American Art
Arizona History Museum
Buffalo Botanical Gardens
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Carrie Secrist Gallery
Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation
Chicago Public Library
Children's Museum Pittsburgh
Christie's
Clark Art Institute
Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Corning Museum of Glass
DC Moore Gallery
Dienst & Dotter
Disney College Program
ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain
Emigrant Bank Fine Art Finance
Eric Firestone Gallery
Everson Museum of Art
Gladstone Gallery
Interlochen Center for the Arts
International Tennis Hall of Fame
Kent Public Library
Langley-Adams Library
Longwood Gardens
Mariner's Museum and Park
Metropolitan Museum of Art
MoMA
Monroe Gallery of Photography
Montgomery County Public Libraries
Mount Pleasant Public Library
Muncy Public Library
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Museum of Science, Boston
National Archives and Records Administration
National Gallery of Art
National Museum of Women in the Arts
National Women's Hall of Fame
New York Public Library
North Carolina Museum of Art
Norwich Public Library
PA Historical & Museum Commission
Pace Gallery
Paddle8
Phillips Auction House
Please Touch Museum
Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium
Pope Memorial Library
Reed Memorial Library
Rogers Memorial Library
Shelburne Museum
Simic Galleries
Smithsonian Institution
Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden
Sotheby's
Soufer Gallery
Sue and Leon Genet Gallery
The Brandt Foundation Arts Study Center
The Hispanic Society of America
The Metropolitan Museum
The Montana Natural History Center
The Morse Institute Library
The New York Public Library
The Tall Ship Glenlee
The Wild Center
The Witte Museum
Thomas Colville Fine Arts
Tokyo Station Gallery
UCCA Center for Contemporary Art
University of Buffalo Art Galleries
University of Michigan Museum of Art
Watertown Free Public Library
Winton Branch Library
Women's Rights National Historical Park
Worcester Art Museum
Yale University

Hobart and William Smith Colleges

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