INFO-679 Museums and Digital Culture:Theory and Practice

3 Credits

This required course introduces students to the theory and practice of museums and digital culture and to current research in the field. Students learn how digital culture is transforming museums across the full range of museum functions and activities and become familiar with the digital tools and technologies that engage and inform museum visitors. The course gives a broad overview of field's development, which importantly is grounded in information science and the related fields of museum informatics and digital cultural heritage, fields that find commonalties of practice with libraries and archives. The course examines the issues and challenges museums face today and moving into the future. It surveys digital culture across the museum from the perspectives of digital technology and social contexts including digital information behavior, user experience, digital exhibitions and museums on the Web. Students experience and engage with museum digital culture through lectures, engaging with museum professionals, field observation, and by doing a final digital project drawn from coursework and class presentation.