Type of Work
Research Paper
Publication Date
1-6-2021
Description
This past summer I worked with two other students and Colin Quinn to research community museums, identity, and the cultural heritage of Translyvania. Each of us focused on a different topic for our research. I worked on researching community museums worldwide and how we can take their practices and apply it to a community museum we plan to build at the Rametz site. Most of these museums I researched were under the control of the communities themselves and the exhibits and design were made to emphasize the identity and cultural heritage of that community. Museums in Japan, Canada, Italy, Greece, etc. were my main case studies. The ideas showcased by these museums helped me and my fellow students to better organize and start to design the community museum at Rametz. Sense of place, identification of heritage resources, cultural touchstones, empowering the local communities, and having room to expand the museum are the main points I gathered that made a strong, and prosperous community museum. So basing my ideas for our community museum on those points, I outlined a plan for the museum. Some include a rotating exhibit schedule where the “cultural touchstones” or important exhibits are rotated so that there is room for the community to add new things they deem important in their culture. Community volunteers, tour guides, and monthly meetings with the community to take ideas to improve the museum are other ideas. Lastly, building the museum at the site of Rametz will accomplish a sense of place and allow visitors to experience the past and get a good sense of Romania and its rich culture. My work this summer was the first step in a long journey to build a museum that will benefit everyone in Translyvania.
Hamilton Areas of Study
Anthropology
Hamilton Sponsoring Organization
Levitt Public Affairs Center
Hamilton Scholarship Series
Levitt Summer Research Group Grant
Hamilton Faculty Advisor
Colin Quinn