Researching at the MoSCAS Library

Author: Emily Snyder | Majors: History and Latino & Latin American Studies | Semester: Spring 2022

I travelled to Santa Fe, New Mexico to visit the Museum of Spanish Colonial Arts (MoSCAS) collections and library to research their exhibits and documents related to the museum’s creation and continued operation. This research was done to aid in my honors thesis, in which I plan to discuss how museums are used as political and social tools by communities by examining MoSCAS as a case study.

This summer, I travelled to Santa Fe, New Mexico to spend a week visiting the many museums the city has to offer, and specifically to do research within the collections and library of the Museum of Spanish Colonial Arts (MoSCAS). My research was focused on collecting information for my honors thesis, which will use MoSCAS as a case study to make the larger argument that museums are used as political and ideological tools by the communities that present them, even in the case of ethnic specific museums. MoSCAS tells one part of a much larger story concerning Santa Fe’s history and ethnic composition. The museum focuses on the art of the Spanish colonial period and the continuation of this art tradition through their incredibly popular event, Spanish Market, where Hispanic artists use the same methods that were used in the Spanish Colonial period. Through examining the resources at MoSCAS, as well as visiting other museums in Santa Fe, I gathered a fuller understanding of how Santa Fe’s history and cultures are being presented by different groups and institutions.

I would not have been able to write my thesis fully and accurately without research at the actual site that will serve as a crucial case study for my argument. I now have more knowledge about the way the museum carries out all the things they discuss on their website. I am also incredibly thankful I was able to visit MoSCAS because some of what I learned at the site actually contradicted my understanding of the museum and the society it is a part of. While interviewing the MoSCAS’ director, I came to realize that the actual level of Hispanic involvement with the museum, in leadership positions and guest attendance and interaction, was not as prevalent as the museum’s website makes it appear. My previous plan for my thesis was to argue that just as nation-states have in the past used museums as ideological tools to advance their goals, so do ethnic communities, using MoSCAS as a case study of this. However, I am not sure how comfortable I am with making this argument now that I know that the level of involvement from the ethnic community which the museum represents has been lacking for some time since the museum was established. I am now working to merge this new awareness of the day-to-day reality of the museum with my theoretical and academic understanding of the museum and how it presents itself. Although this will most likely change my plans for exactly what I argue in my thesis, I have no doubt that the research I did while in Santa Fe will still be extremely valuable. The way Santa Fe museums portray the city and the people who live there are an incredibly rich topic of study, and my thesis will still examine this through the lens of MoSCAS in some way.

While in Santa Fe, I had the opportunity to meet people who worked in museums and at the New Mexico Department of Culture to discuss my research and their careers. Hearing about all of the cultural work happening in Santa Fe was very interesting because the city has so much cultural value but also must balance that with tourism. Many times, it felt like I was directly experiencing things I had read or learned about in classes concerning how history, culture, and ethnicity are presented in both museums and tourism. The city is trying to navigate its difficult past and its many communities that vie for attention and power, while also putting on a front of being a place of cultural harmony and authenticity for tourists to consume. Many of the museums are a part of telling this narrative, so the people who work there must contend with the expectations to continue to tell this story while also portraying the history they are often affected by and the communities they are a part of. As a history major who plans to go to graduate school for museum studies, it was a great lesson about the ways in which history is presented and how museums are active participants in that, and in a place like Santa Fe, the effect that has on the many people who live there and the many more who come to visit.

From here I will continue to craft my thesis argument and begin writing my paper. This trip has allowed me to move forward with my thesis, as well as provided me with valuable experiences that will aid me in my future plans for graduate school and work in the museum field.