What is a Museum? In Greek mythology, it referred to a temple dedicated to the muses, the divinities of the arts. Later, it connoted a “contact zone” or asymmetrical space of encounter. Colonialism involved theft and usurpation of heritage from the colonized world into the spectacular collections at the British Museum, the Louvre, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Scholars argue for the return of art and heritage to formerly colonized sub-Saharan Africa given that approximately 90% of cultural heritage from that region is held in Western collections. Decolonization calls for the repatriation (or rematriation) of Indigenous land and life. It is not a "metaphor for other things." Decolonizing museums is a form of “curatorial activism” that reimagines museums where we see artifacts and objects in their original lands and we are educated about the colonial histories of the same. In this reimagining, constituencies of colonized, racialized, and gendered artists are no longer ghettoized. The oppressed claim their own narratives and histories, and reclaim Indigenous life and land. The idea of the museum itself is put on trial. In this course, we will excavate silenced and colonized knowledges. We will study not just the theoretical underpinnings of Decolonizing Museums, but will also undertake two active case studies, one of which will be your final project for the class.Social Science and History (SSHIS) courses develop students' critical thinking skills through the study of history and the social sciences (e.g. sociology, psychology, economics, political science, anthropology, geography), as well as through contemporary interdisciplines that draw heavily on these fields (e.g. feminist and queer studies, media studies, urban studies, ethnic studies). Subject matter in these courses contributes to students' cultural literacy while instructional materials and classroom assignments introduce basic research problems and techniques.

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