Basic Instructions: Choose one of the two options below. Write a paper of no fewer than 5 pages and no more than 7 pages. Your paper must be double spaced. Use a font no larger than 12 points and no smaller than 11 points. Include footnotes for any ideas from the class readings (even if you do not use direct quotes) and make sure to footnote any additional sources you use. Choose a title for your paper, and put your title, your name, the date, and the name of this class on a separate title page. By clicking on this assignment link, you will be directed to write this paper in a google document. Please do not submit it as a word or PDF file. Review the rubric before you write.
Option One: African artists, curators, and governments are pressuring European museums to return artifacts and human remains. What is at stake? What has happened? What should happen? While we have focused on the United States, our readings and class discussions regarding the history of museums, museum ethics, repatriation, and community-based museums can provide you with a foundation for answering these questions. Write a paper that:
Identifies the nature of the ethical problem
Identifies the arguments made on each side of the problem
Analyzes proposed solutions
Analyzes museums’ responses
Arrives at a recommendation for how to proceed in an ethical manner
Draw on the following sources for background:
NPR, All Things Considered (5 minutes)
Time Magazine
Quartz, African Weekly Brief,
ArtWorld,
Option Two: After years of lobbying by Latinx curators, artists, and communities, the United States Congress has approved the National Museum of the American Latino. What is the purpose and value of this museum? What does it propose to do? What should it do? We have talked about both the history of museums and the specific, broad agenda that community-specific museums have advanced. Use our readings and class discussions regarding the history of museums, museum ethics, Indigenous Museums, and community-based museums as a foundation for answering these questions. Write a paper that:
Identifies the origins of the Museum
Identifies the arguments that led to the creation of the Museum
Analyzes the proposed mission and goals of the Museum
Considers additional goals the Museum might want to advance
Arrives at a recommendation for how the Museum should proceed
Draw on the following sources for background:
NPR, Weekend Edition (4 minutes)
Time Magazine
Invisible No More, NPR story with link to Report
3. The American Latino Museum,
