2019 Annual Conference

Women’s Issues, Status, and Education

Concurrent Session (45 minutes)

University instructors and adult educators can help students critically question the narratives told in museums, historic, and heritage sites using the “Feminist Museum Hack.” This working session will focus on the tool and techniques of executing the hack using examples from a working group of international feminist researchers. 

The audience will include researchers/adult educators interested in informal learning in museums and other cultural institutions.  Practitioners in adult education, museum education, teacher education and vocational education may also be interested.  Our ideal audience will include members who enjoy active learning and engagement! 

Participants will be able to:
1) Use guided questioning to elicit critical reflection.
2) Provide context for visits to museums and other cultural institutions.
3) Utilize photo elicitation techniques with research participants.
4) Evaluate suitability of the "feminist hack" tool for various projects/audiences.
5) Evaluate suitability of the "Art Activist Barbie" hack tool for various projects/audiences

Museums and other cultural institutions such as aquariums, zoos, and heritage/historic sites are fruitful sites for informal learning, particularly for adults. Museums, however, help to perpetuate existing power structures by emphasizing the master narrative of those groups in power, often silencing women’s voices and the voices of other marginalized groups (Sandlin et al., 2011; Taylor, 2010).  University instructors and adult educators can help students critically question the narratives told in museums, historic, and heritage sites using the “Feminist Museum Hack” (Clover and Sanford, 2016, p. 6). This working session will focus on the tool and techniques of executing the hack using examples from a working group of international feminist researchers. Examples will include the “Art Activist Barbie” hack in European art museums, interventions at the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, BC, Canada, and at the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Lisbon, Portugal, as well as the presenters’ own work with UAFS students at the Fort Smith National Historic Site.                                                    Clover, D., & Sanford, K. (2016). Knowing their place: Feminist understandings and perceptions of women adult educators in museums. Journal of Adult and Continuing Education (22)2, 117-133.  Sandlin, J.A., Wright, R. R., & Clark, C. (2011). Reexamining theories of adult learning and adult development through the lenses of public pedagogy. Adult Education Quarterly, (63)1 3-23.            Taylor, E.W. (2010). Cultural institutions and adult education. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, (127), 5-14.