ARTH 076. Art Museums: History, Theory, Controversy

Museums are public institutions that collect, preserve, document, exhibit and interpret material objects for the benefit of the public. This course examines the history of museums, modes of collecting, and attempts to preserve different visions of the past. It will consider how art museums reveal the social and cultural ideologies of those who build, pay for, work in, and visit them. It will also examine the complicated relationship between the history of art and museum acquisitions, curatorial practice, and exhibition strategies.
Arts and Humanities.
Spring 2026. Reilly.
Catalog chapter: Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art-history

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