Thursday, August 18, 2011

Back in the saddle again

So after disappearing from my blog again since January and a failed attempt at a sketch a day after March (and spring/summer museum education programming mayhem) I am back on the blog. Why, you may ask? I am no longer working at the art museum. What, you say? Yes, in a slightly unsettling conversation with AAM's president Ford Bell, facilitated by my museum's director this spring at the annual meeting I believe I explained it somewhere along the lines of..."I am seeking my PhD because as I see job postings for entry level educators in museums that require a Master's degree in art history or art education, I am looking toward the future of the field. Museum education is still in the developmental process of professionalization and understanding what training constitutes a prepared educator. I want to learn how to conduct a large scale research project and publish the results. I think it's important to understand the changing role of research in museums and I see the PhD as a way to stay relevant in my field." I hope I'm right. Wish me luck folks!

In the meantime, I will try to blog here and there about the whole adventure. I am minoring in art history, a professional deficiency of mine. I am most anxious about the differences in research methods between these two related disciplines. OK, to be honest, I am anxious about handling the subtle (and not so subtle) social interactions and intellectual posturing I may encounter in art history. It's what kept me from an MA in art history. I am trying to overcome my fear and lack of knowledge, gauntlet style. I will either grow professionally or be beaten to a pulp. More on that later.