Date of Award

11-1-2014

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Organizational Unit

College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences

First Advisor

Christina Kreps, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Roberta Waldbaum

Third Advisor

Dean Saitta

Keywords

Volunteerism, Museums, Civic engagements

Abstract

This thesis examines the intersection of volunteerism, museum studies, and American civil society, using these frameworks to examine volunteer motivations within two Denver area art museums. Additionally, there is much current scholarship that focuses on the relationship between museums and community, yet does not often address the role of museum volunteerism within such a context. This thesis therefore also examines the intersection of community and museum volunteerism, presenting a starting point for future researches to continue studying museum volunteerism within the context of civic engagement. This thesis finds that, while the ideology of American civil society plays a role in museum volunteerism, personal motivations are more likely to push an individual to volunteer. It also concludes that volunteers are currently less likely to see museums as civically engaged places than other institutions. Finally, this thesis presents possible actions to help museum staff and community partners create a more civically engaged museum volunteer corps.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Sarah C. Crocker

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Format

application/pdf

Language

en

File Size

150 p.

Discipline

Museum studies

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