Curatorial Studies

• Art History Faculty and Curators
• Leora Auslander, History
• Rachel Cohen, Creative Writing
• David Galenson, Economics
• Theaster Gates, Visual Arts and Harris School of Public Policy
• Alice Goff, History
• Yung-ti Li, East Asian Languages and Civilizations
• Larry Norman, Romance Languages and Literatures
• Geof Oppenheimer, Visual Arts
• James Osborne, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
• Ada Palmer, History
• Lawrence Rothfield, English
• Gil Stein, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
• Jacqueline Stewart, Cinema and Media Studies
• Paula Worthington, Harris School
   

Students choose from courses offered by faculty in Art History and other departments focused on museums, collections or object-driven research. These also include annual courses offered at the Art Institute of Chicago through the Rhoades Exchange Program and Chicago Objects Study Initiative, the Suzanne Deal Booth Seminars in Conservation and Conservation Science, and seminars regularly taught by curatorial staff at the Smart Museum, Neubauer Collegium Exhibitions, and Logan Center Exhibitions.

Outside of the classroom, students benefit from the expertise and mentorship of museum professionals at these institutions and the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, the Campus and Public Art Collections, the Visual Resources Center, the Center for the Art of East Asia, the Regenstein Library’s Special Collections, the Renaissance Society, and more.

Sample courses include:

Do You Read Me? Curating Artists' Books (ARTH 34621) Autumn 2027
This course is a combined research seminar and curatorial practicum with students co-curating an exhibition of artists’ books. 

Following World War II, visual artists took up the book as an artistic medium, experimenting with and expanding the essential components of a medium that had remained unchanged for centuries. The results defied all expectations about traditional understandings of what constitutes a book, including the primacy of text and the use of paper, pages, and binding. This class will consider how books became visual and material objects to be viewed rather than read; made from modern materials such as plastics, concrete, or newspaper and in sizes as small as a square inch or as large as an over-life-sized wood construction; featuring unusual objects such as a sack of flour, a display shelf, or a comic book with stenciled holes; or prompting readers to actions with urban performance instructions or do-it-yourself watercolor kits. 

Drawing on (U)Chicago collections and a recently gifted private collection, students will work on a fall 2027 exhibition in the Regenstein Library’s gallery, including researching artists, visiting local collections, selecting artists’ books, assessing conservation needs, writing object and section labels, and designing layout. (Christine Mehring)

Collecting the Ancient World: Museum Practice and Politics (ARTH 34815) Winter 2027
Where is this artifact from? Who does it belong to? How did it get here? Who’s telling its story? Critical inquiry into the practice and politics of museums has reached a new zenith in contemporary discourse. From discussions of acquisition and repatriation to provenience (archaeological findspot) and provenance (an object’s ownership history) and the ethics of curation and modes of display, museum and art professionals—and the general public alike—actively deliberate the concept of museums and these institutions' responsibilities toward the collections they steward. This course explores the early history of museums and collecting practices and their impact on the field today, with a focus on cultural heritage collections from West Asia and North Africa. We begin by considering archaeological explorations of “the Orient,” colonial collecting practices, and the antiquities trade, as well as the politics of representation and reception in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Next, we look at critical issues presently facing museums, including ethical collection stewardship, curatorial responsibilities, provenance research, repatriation, community engagement, and public education. The course is structured in a seminar format, with lectures devoted to the presentation of key themes by the instructor and guest speakers and critical group discussion. Meetings include visits to the ISAC Museum and the Smart Museum at the University of Chicago. (Kiersten Neumann)

For an extended listing of classes and descriptions, visit the Art History course page.
 

The Curatorial Studies Specialization allows students specializing in Art History to structure their coursework and thesis around the study of the history of museums, collecting, and exhibitions while working within the interdisciplinary academic orientation of the MA Program in Humanities (MAPH) at the University of Chicago. The Curatorial Studies Specialization, which results in a transcript notation, offers an intellectual foundation for curatorial practice in the following ways: graduate-level coursework in Art History taught by practicing curators and at Chicago-area art institutions; the opportunity to connect with curators and arts professionals at events and workshops; the option to write a thesis with a curatorial focus under the supervision of a practicing curator or relevant faculty member; and the opportunity to apply for jobs and internships at campus art institutions. MAPH students doing the Curatorial Studies Specialization can take all of their classes in Art History, or explore offerings in other subjects, such as East Asian Languages and Civilizations, English, Theater and Performance Studies, and Visual Arts. The Curatorial Studies Specialization is designed for students looking to strengthen the scholarly foundation of their existing curatorial practice and for students seeking academic training that will prepare them for further curatorial studies or future work in the museum or gallery field.

MAPH students who complete the following requirements will receive a Curatorial Studies notation on their transcript:

• MAPH Core Course (Foundations of Interpretive Theory)
• Approaches to Art History
• Three graduate-level elective classes in Art History with at least one focused on museums, collections, object-driven skills, and/or curatorial practice
• Three professional development workshops
• An MA thesis in art history written under the supervision of an Art History faculty member, university-based curator, or relevant faculty member from another department
• A related internship is highly recommended but not required

Please direct any questions you may have about specializing in Curatorial Studies to maph-support@uchicago.edu.

"Authoritarianism Enshrined: The Politics of Representation in Taiwan’s National Palace Museum"
Arden Gentry, MAPH '26
Advisor: Martha Ward

"Cultural Assimilation in Chinese Museum Display from Lhasa to Chicago"
Paul McMahon, MAPH '26
Advisor: Yung-Ti Li

"The Heart of Tate Modern: Interrogating the Turbine Hall"
Frances Millar, MAPH '26
Advisor: Erica Warren

“Transcending Time and Form: Reimagining Gandhara, Rethinking Curatorial Practice”
Guanhong Liu, MAPH ‘25
Advisor: Wei-Cheng Lin