By T’Neil Gooden
Brooklyn College is making history by offering an exclusive new Museum and Cultural Organizations minor. This new minor exposes students to cultural management, practice, education, and discovery within museums and other cultural organizations.
Topics from all different disciplines will be brought into the minor, exemplifying the many different avenues that could be focused on within museum and cultural organizations. Some topics of interest are business, marketing, cultural development, finance, education, and public engagement. These subjects allow students to be well-versed in curating without focusing on curation itself.
“We wanted to make it clear that this minor is more than just museums, but it is still focused on cultural organizations, such as non-profits, community groups, and organizations working within the community, for the community,” Kelly Britt, associate professor of anthropology and coordinator of the minor, told The Vanguard.
There are only three requirements for this minor: an anthropology class, an art class, and an out-of-classroom experience through an internship at a museum or cultural organization. “The point was not only to give students the classroom experience but to give them an applied in-person experience with these museums and cultural organizational spaces,” Britt expressed. “Since these are introductory classes many students already have them allowing the minor to be only 12-15 credits.”
Britt expressed that this minor had been in the works since 2018. However, the pandemic prevented the Anthropology, Art, Art History, and History departments from enacting the minor. It wasn’t until last year that they were able to finalize and introduce the minor to BC students.
“This minor is a stepping stone for a lot of students, they can expand that career umbrella without taking on the stress and workload of doing another major,” Britt said.
The newly introduced minor is not only a first at BC, but a first for the larger CUNY system.
“This minor is the only minor in this field in the CUNY system, so there is no other CUNY system that has a minor, at least as of last year, that is focused on museum and cultural organizations,” Britt said.
This minor is meant to open students to all the career paths that are available within the fields of museums and cultural organizations. Students can be exposed to classes at the graduate school level due to Brooklyn College’s exclusive new minor.
For inquiries about the Museum and Cultural minor, students can reach out to Professor Kelly Britt at her email kellym.britt@brooklyn.cuny.edu and check out their Instagram page @bcmuseumminor.