Volunteers in America: How Volunteerism and American Civil Society Shape Our Museums

<p>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.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters Thesis

Year dc:date.available

2014

Author dc:creator

• Crocker, Sarah C.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Christina Kreps, Ph.D.
• Roberta Waldbaum
• Dean Saitta

• Volunteerism
• Museums
• Civic engagements
• Arts and Humanities
• Museum Studies

Statement dc:rights

• <p>Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.</p>

Language dc:language

en

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/149

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.du.edu:etd-1148