Among the various hats I wear, I’m the chair of the host department for UMW’s museum studies minor (started 3 years ago) and a founding member of UMW’s digital studies minor (starting this fall).   Both of these undergraduate minors are interdisciplinary and public facing in approach, courses, and content.  As an affiliated faculty member in both, recently I’ve been thinking a great deal about the ways that these two programs are informing each other and how we might think of a curriculum that combined the two.

Would people be interested in conversation(s) about the impact of digital tools and resources on the teaching/curriculum for Museum Studies or Public History at the undergraduate or graduate level, about the lessons to be learned about program development by newer fields such as Digital Studies from more established curricula in Museum Studies and Public History, or about a glorious mash-up of all of the above?  What do students entering Public History or Museum Studies programs need to know about digital tools and resources?