Going Out With Style

Another year...gone. It seems impossible that we have gotten this far this quickly. I vividly remember the end of September, when I informed my classmates that we were now officially one-sixth of the way through our classroom experience. It doesn't seem possible that that was only seven month ago.

The last few weeks have been hectic. We've had papers to write and classes to finish. We did get a nice break last week when the entire class, and many of our professors, travelled to Indianapolis to attend the 2017 National Council on Public History Conference. Between attending gripping sessions and exploring all the city had to offer (from acclaimed museums to art deco architecture), we were asked to wrestle with some tough questions:

When do you know your museum is failing?

How do you engage with an audience that is undergoing great turmoil and change?

How do you include diverse voices?

Which voices do you include and how do you find them?

Who is your audience and how do you reach them?

What is the relationship between pop history and the factual past?

How do we address national issues at this moment in time?

How should we work to make museums more relevant?

What are our responsibilities as museum curators to the public and to the future?

I'm sure you can see that these aren't easy questions to answer. But I think we've got the tools for the job. As a graduate class, we have learned about museum administration from Mrs. Miller, we have studied collections - both objects and architecture - with Dr. Reid and Dr. Small, we have amassed a variety of tools for engaging in local and archival history thanks to Dr. Barnhart, and we have acquired a multitude of new skills from our work on the exhibit with Mr. Riccio.

At the risk of sounding like a graduation speech, we have accomplished so much in such a short period of time. We have learned from our professors and we have learned from each other. I am proud of every one of my classmates and colleagues. We are the next generation of museum professions, and we are the 2017 Historical Administration class.