DIRECTOR OF THE PROGRAM:
Dr. Bruce J. Altshuler

The Program in Museum Studies offers a course of study in contemporary theory and practice of museum work. The program prepares those who seek careers as directors; curators; educators; registrars; collections managers; and development, media, and communications specialists. Our graduates are working around the world in museums of fine arts, history, anthropology, science and technology, and natural history; in arboretums, national parks, and science centers; with private and corporate collections; and in government agencies, historical societies, and art galleries.

The program offers a Master of Arts degree in museum studies and an Advanced Certificate in museum studies. It also offers a concentration in museum studies to those enrolled for a master’s degree in one of the following NYU departments or programs: Africana Studies, Hebrew and Judaic Studies, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and Near Eastern Studies.

The 32-point Master of Arts Program in Museum Studies is an innovative program employing an interdisciplinary approach to the study of museums and preparation for museum work. We welcome a diversity of academic backgrounds in our applicants and encourage in-depth education in subjects related to the type of museum or institution in which a student intends to work after graduation. Our courses cover the history and theory of museums as well as practical training in vital areas of museum work, taught by a faculty consisting of both scholars from a variety of fields and museum professionals.

The 24-point Advanced Certificate Program in Museum Studies is designed to prepare those who have a strong graduate education in a particular discipline for a museum career. This course of study is intended for those who already have a master’s or doctoral degree in the humanities, social sciences, or sciences or who currently are enrolled or have been admitted into an M.A. or Ph.D. program at New York University or another highly reputed university in the United States or abroad. In order to be awarded the advanced certificate, students must complete both the Program in Museum Studies and their graduate degree requirements.

A maximum of 8 points in museum studies may be applied toward the M.A. or Ph.D. degree offered by departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Science and at other schools at the University.

Faculty

Bruce J. Altshuler, Director, Program in Museum Studies; Adjunct Professor, Art History, Program in Museum Studies. Ph.D. 1977 (philosophy), M.A. 1974 (philosophy), Harvard; B.A. 1971 (philosophy), Princeton.
History of exhibitions; museum history and theory; modern and contemporary art.

Miriam Basilio, Assistant Professor, Art History, Program in Museum Studies. Ph.D. 2002 (art history), M.A. 1995 (art history), M.A. 1991 (liberal studies), Advanced Certificate 1991 (museum studies), New York; B.A. 1989 (political science), Boston College.
Art, propaganda, cultural property, and national identity in Spain; modern Spanish and Latin American art; and the reception of Latin American art in the United States.

Haidy Geismar, Assistant Professor, Anthropology, Program in Museum Studies. Ph.D. 2003 (anthropology), University College London; B.A. (honors) 1997 (archaeology and anthropology), Cambridge.
Anthropology of material and visual culture; intellectual and cultural property issues; critical museology; Pacific anthropology.

Jennifer Stampe, Assistant Professor/ Faculty Fellow. Ph.D. 2007 (anthropology), M.A. 1997 (liberal studies), Minnesota; B.A. 1991 (religion and culture), Wisconsin.
Politics of representation; museum history, theory, and ethnography; public culture, tourism, and heritage; state, civil society, and public spheres; indigeneity; Native North America and United States.

Jeffrey Trask, Assistant Professor/ Faculty Fellow. Ph.D. 2006 (United States history), Columbia; M.A. 1998 (museum studies and material culture), Fashion Institute of Technology; B.S. 1991 (interior design and studio art), Radford.
Cultural and intellectual history of the 19th- and 20th-century United States; museum history; collecting and material culture; public history; gender and urban-landscape studies.

Glenn Wharton, Research Scholar (a joint appointment in the Program in Museum Studies and the Conservation Center at the Institute of Fine Arts in the Faculty of Arts and Science). Ph.D. 2005 (conservation/archaeology), University College London; M.A. 1981 (art conservation), SUNY (Oneonta); B.A. 1977 (art history/combined social sciences), California (Santa Barbara).
Conservation of cultural materials with specialization in contemporary art and archaeology, public participation in conservation, history and philosophy of conservation.

AFFILIATED ADJUNCT FACULTY

Ivy L. Barsky, Adjunct Assistant Professor. M.A. 1990 (art history), Pennsylvania; B.A. 1987 (art history/English), New York. Deputy Director for Programs, Museum of Jewish Heritage—A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, New York.

Jeffrey D. Feldman, Adjunct Assistant Professor. Ph.D. 2002 (anthropology), Virginia; M.S. 1995 (ethnology and museum ethnography), M.Phil. 1993 (modern Jewish studies), Oxford; B.A. 1989 (English), Carleton College. Assistant Professor and Acting Director, Graduate Program in Museum Studies, City College (CUNY), New York.

Ileen S. Gallagher, Adjunct Assistant Professor. M.A. 1978 (museum studies), John F. Kennedy; B.A. 1976 (art history), California (Berkeley). Principal, ISG Productions, New York.

Josephine Gear, Adjunct Associate Professor. Ph.D. 1976 (modern art history), M.A. 1970 (art history), B.A. 1969 (art history), New York. Independent curator and writer.

Bruce Lineker, Adjunct Assistant Professor. M.A. 1990 (art history/museum studies), Southern California (Los Angeles); B.A. 1986 (art history and art design), Duke. Director of Development, Seventh Regiment Armory Conservancy, New York.

Stephen H. Long, Adjunct Assistant Professor. M.A. 1998 (history), New York; B.A. 1990, Middlebury College. Vice President of Collections and Education, Lower East Side Tenement Museum, New York.

Eric Siegel, Adjunct Associate Professor. M.B.A. 1981 (arts administration), SUNY (Binghamton); B.A. 1977 (music and culture), Michigan (Ann Arbor). Executive Vice President, Programs and Planning, New York Hall of Science, New York.

Geri Thomas, Adjunct Associate Professor. B.A. 1975 (art history and East Asian studies), Roosevelt (Chicago). President, Thomas & Associates, Inc., New York.