Meet Incoming Director of Tufts Museum Studies: James Golden

After 18 years under the leadership of Director Cynthia Robinson, the Tufts Museum Studies program has a new steward: Dr. James Golden! Join Blog Editors Hailey and Ava as they sit down for a Q&A with James to discuss career advice, education goals, and what’s next for the Museum Studies program. 

Before entering the museum field, James Golden completed Masters degrees at the University of Edinburgh, and a doctorate in modern history at Oxford University. Most recently, James joined us after serving as the Director of Museum Education and Interpretation at Historic Deerfield. Before Historic Deerfield, James worked as the Education Director at the Mark Twain House. James has teaching experience as a visiting professor at Harford and Trinity College in undergraduate history. He has also taught in an interdisciplinary graduate program at Wesleyan University which included museum studies, material culture, and public history classes. As James steps into the new role, Cynthia will stay on part-time for a smooth transition. The two are co-teaching the Museums Teaching and Learning course, and James is leading his own Museums Today section. In spring, James will be leading the Museum Interpretation Proseminar course. 

How did you get into the museum field? 

JG: I’m kind of an odd case because I didn’t do any formal museum studies training. I do think that one of the things that’s great about museums is that people from very different backgrounds and interests end up being able to contribute to different parts of them, so they’re great ways to draw all kinds of different interests and talents together. I am a cultural historian by training, and I always had a lot of interest in architecture and material culture. 

I was trained as a traditional archive based historian, I did a postdoc, and I was working at museums while applying for academic jobs. I really liked the museum – it was a great fit. I loved the way we interacted with the public. I worked at a historic house, the Mark Twain house, and it was invigorating to see people there for fun on vacation – it was meaningful for them, it was personal. This spoke to something beyond how I’d always thought about history as a professional, you know, the seminar, the historiography. Seeing this relationship to the public was so different. 

What is your biggest piece of advice for those trying to break into the museum field?

JG: If it is possible, work in a small museum early in your career. The smaller the museum, the more roles somebody will play and the more opportunities they get to do different things. Early in their career, people often think the bigger the institution and the more impressive the name is, that it looks better. But the bigger the museum, the more specific everybody’s role is, and that means you’ll get less experience. In a small place, you’ll do a little bit of everything. 

Relatedly, internships are important, but having a dozen month-long internships is not as important as a year-long internship where you do something meaningful. Being able to show what you produced, your projects, and what you learned is important. A lot of people often think that they need to get as many museums on their CV as possible, but what somebody who’s hiring you is often looking at is what you can actually do. 

Another thing I’d suggest is that people don’t understand networking. Networking is relational, not transactional. It’s about making friends and getting to know somebody. And when there is a job available at a museum, you can say “Oh, I know somebody there. I’m going to pick their brain”, and they’ll do the same thing with you. It’s a way of learning what’s going on and being in the know, having a sense of what issues are happening in the field and where things are going. At this point, no one is ever going to go to a cocktail party and walk out with employment. 

Lastly, be open to many types of museum careers. One might actually discover that marketing is where they want to spend their time because that’s the most persuasive writing. Or they thought they might be an educator, and they actually have great communication or development, administrative, skills. There are all kinds of ways to contribute to museums of many different types with these skills. We need people who have museum studies knowledge and backgrounds in administration and marketing positions, not just in the more classical collections or curatorial and education roles. 

Are there any lessons or practices you bring to the program from Historic Deerfield? 

Here, James points to a framed photo behind us in his office, pictured below.

JG: That is a photo of me shoveling up sheep poo at the end of an event. We had a huge heritage breed sheep weekend every year that I was responsible for, I was the head of the team that created this event. And I told myself, “whatever next job I go to, I need to have a picture that reminds me that there are the really cool, grand ideas, and there’s also the shoveling up sheet poo at the end of the day.” And that’s one of the things about museums. 

More specifically, I’m bringing a background in decorative arts and material culture, and putting my history perspective on that. More generally, I’m really invested in the big picture of museums and the range of where we are trying to go. 

Do you have any specific goals for your first year in the Director role at Tufts?

JG: Tufts is one of the oldest, and sort of one of the flagship museum programs in the country. I’m very conscious that I am inheriting a really well run and successful program, a huge thanks to Cynthia Robinson and all the existing faculty for that. My goal for the first year is to take stock of things and learn, wrap my head around it all. Broadly, what I’m really hoping to do is make sure there’s a sense of community within the program and across the different MA tracks. I’d really like to use the alumni network as effectively as possible, build that relationship and keep connections within the field though the alumni network. In addition, make sure we’re thinking broadly about what roles people can have in museums and where people can go. Museums are in a very tough spot right now, things are rapidly changing. I want to make sure that the program stays able to prepare students for the contemporary museum world as much as possible. 

What are your favorite museums in the Boston area?

JG: One of the things that makes being here stupendous is the depth of museums in New England and Greater Boston. The MFA, the ICA, the Gardner, the Science Museum are landmarks for a reason. For people who are interested in historic houses, I would flag three Historic New England properties: the Eustis Estate, Gropius House, and Beauport, the Sleeper-McCann House. Speaking more holistically, the New England Aquarium is great, and I’d really recommend the New England Botanical Garden at Tower Hill. It’s a beautiful space and they have a very rich education program and museum education approach to a garden and horticulture. And of course the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Harvard Art Museums, and Tufts University Art Galleries. 

What do you want Museum Studies students at Tufts to know about you?

JG: That I am here for you. I want to be as much a resource as I can be, be as helpful as I can be. I’m really excited about meeting all of you and teaching you, and learning from you. I really want to be as supportive as I can.