Juilee Decker Headshot

Juilee Decker

Associate Professor

Department of History
College of Liberal Arts
jdgsh@rit.edu
585-475-4206
Office Hours
Spring 2021, via Zoom Please email me to arrange an appt.
Office Location
LBR-1114

Juilee Decker

Associate Professor

Department of History
College of Liberal Arts

Education

BA, Wittenberg University; MA, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign; Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University

Bio

Dr. Juilee Decker (she/her/hers) is an Associate Professor of History and Director of the Museum Studies program in the College of Liberal Arts. 

Trained as an art historian, Dr. Decker's research and scholarship are at the intersection of museum studies, public history, and public art. She is an author, scholar, facilitator, and collaborator in the academy as well as in cultural institutions and communities. Since 2008, she has served as editor of Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals, a peer-reviewed journal published by SAGE. In 2015, she edited the four-volume series Innovative Approaches for Museums which brought together research and practices in the areas of engagement, access, technology, collections care and stewardship, as well as fundraising and strategic planning. In 2017, she revised  Museums in Motion: An Introduction to the History and Functions of Museums, a cornerstone publication in museum studies. Her 4th edition of the book is forthcoming in 2023.

Beyond the work described above, Dr. Decker's research excavates histories and functions of museums and memorials as part of the process of understanding and critiquing constructions of knowledge and public memory in the U.S. Her monograph Enid Yandell: Kentucky's Pioneer Sculptor was published by the University Press of Kentucky in 2019. She is currently working on two projects related to monuments, memorials, and memory—which is also an area of her teaching (HIST 322, offered in the spring).

Dr. Decker has curated/co-curated numerous exhibitions focusing on art, material culture, and public history and has served as a consultant to public art projects and programs in the U.S. The exhibition Crafting Democracy: Fiber Arts & Activism (co-curated with Hinda Mandell) debuted in Rochester in June 2019 and will continue to travel to venues in New York, Ohio, and Virginia through 2020. 

Dr. Decker has served on the Board of the National Susan B. Anthony Museum and House and is a juror for the Education Committee of the American Alliance of Museums. She earned her Ph.D. in 2003 from the joint program in Art History and Museum Studies at Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Museum of Art. Prior to joining the faculty of RIT in 2014, Dr. Decker taught at Georgetown College. 

jdgsh@rit.edu
585-475-4206
Personal Links
Personal Website
Google Scholar
Twitter
LinkedIn

Select Scholarship

Journal Editor
Decker, Juilee, ed. Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2020. Web.
Decker, Juilee, ed. Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2019. Web.
Juilee, Decker,, ed. Collections: A Journal for Archives and Museum Professionals. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018. Print.
Decker, Juilee, ed. Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2017. Print.
Decker, Juilee, ed. Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2016. Print.
Decker, Juilee, ed. Collections: A Journal for Museum & Archives Professionals. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2015. Print.
Decker, Juilee, ed. Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals. Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press, 2014. Print.
Invited Keynote/Presentation
Decker, Juilee. "Casting a Legacy: Enid Yandell & Watch Hill’s Chief Ninigret." The Watch Hill Conservancy. The Watch Hill Conservancy. Watch Hill, RI. 21 Aug. 2020. Lecture.
Decker, Juilee. "From Aspiration to Activism: Fiber Arts at Woodlawn from Nelly Custis to Crafting Democracy." Exhibition Closing "Crafting Democracy: Fiber Arts & Activism". Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey. Alexandria, VA. 13 Sep. 2020. Keynote Speech.
Decker, Juilee, et al. "Blurring Boundaries and Dissolving Silos: Developing an XR Museum Project in Collaboration." Educators in VR. Educators in VR. virtual, virtual. 20 Oct. 2020. Lecture.
Decker, Juilee. "Enid Yandell: Kentucky’s Pioneer Sculptor." Book Launch. Filson Historical Society. Louisville, KY. 3 Oct. 2019. Lecture.
Decker, Juilee. "The Life and Work of Kentucky’s Pioneer Sculptor, Enid Yandell." Veritas Society. Bellarmine University. Louisville, KY. 4 Oct. 2019. Keynote Speech.
Decker, Juilee. "An almost breathing likeness: Enid Yandell’s Bronze Bust of J. J. Rucker." Georgetown College Visiting Scholar. Georgetown College. Georgetown, KY. 15 Nov. 2019. Lecture.
Decker, Juilee. "Women’s Work: The Legacy Enid Yandell, Kentucky’s Pioneer Sculptor." Speed Art Museum Public Lecture. Speed Art Museum. Louisville, KY. 17 Nov. 2019. Keynote Speech.
Decker, Juilee. "Re-Presenting the Civil War: Monuments and Public Memory in the Age of #BlackLivesMatter." The Legacy of the Civil War. Virginia Commonwealth University. Richmond, VA. 30 Jun. 2016. Lecture.
Decker, Juilee. "Re-Presenting the Civil War: Monuments and Public Memory in the Age of #BlackLivesMatter." The Legacy of the Civil War. Virginia Commonwealth University. Richmond, VA. 14 Jul. 2016. Guest Lecture.
Peer Reviewed/Juried Poster Presentation
Decker, Juilee. "Memorials and Museum Practices." Proceedings of the Museums and Race Conference. Ed. Jackie Peterson. virtual, virtual: n.p..
Juilee, Decker,. "Inclusive Museum Practices (House of Mercy Project)." Proceedings of the 2018 Engaged Scholarship & Teaching Faculty Symposium. Ed. NONE. Rochester, NY: n.p..
Shows/Exhibits/Installations
Various, . Crafting Democracy: Fiber Arts and Activism. 14 Feb. 2020. Bevier Gallery, Rochester. Exhibit.
Various, . Crafting Democracy: Fiber Arts and Activism. 14 Aug. 2020. Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House, Alexandria, VA. Exhibit.
Various, . Crafting Democracy: Fiber Arts and Activism. 1 Oct. 2020. Hobart & William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY. Exhibit.
Various, . Crafting Democracy: Fiber Arts and Activism. Director. Juilee Decker. 1 Aug. 2019. Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County, Rochester. Exhibit.
Various, . Crafting Democracy: Fiber Arts and Activism. Director. Juilee Decker. 29 Nov. 2019. The Sculpture Center, Cleveland, OH. Exhibit.
Studies, RIT Archives & Museum. The Stories They Tell 6. 3 Oct. 2019. Wallace Library, RIT, Rochester. Exhibit.
Studies, RIT Archives & Museum. The Stories They Tell 5. 3 Oct. 2018. Wallace Library, RIT, Rochester, NY. Exhibit.
contributors, Multiple authors and. Because of Women Like Her: Winning the Vote in New York State. 2 Jun. 2017. Central Library of Rochester & Monroe County, Rochester. Exhibit.
Book Chapter
Decker, Juilee. "“No More ‘Dusty Archive Kitten Deaths’: Discoverability, Incidental Learning, and Digital Humanities"." Teaching with Digital Humanities. Ed. Christopher J. Young, et al. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2020. 232-240. Print.
Decker, Juilee. "Enid Yandell (1869–1934): Kentucky’s Frontier Sculptor and ‘Bachelor Maid’." Kentucky Women: Their Lives and Times. Ed. Melissa A. McEuen and Thomas H. Appleton. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2015. 196-218. Print.
Journal Paper
Decker, Juilee, et al. "“Learning by Doing: Experiential, Interdisciplinary, and Incidental Learning Workflows for AR/VR Museum Experiences”." Journal of Interactive Teaching and Pedagogy 17. Focus Issue: Extended Reality (XR) Pedagogies & Applications: Interactive & Immersive Educational Technologies (2020): URL. Web.
Decker, Juilee. "Beyond Cul-de-Sac Pedagogy: Museum Studies as a Landscape of Practice." Transformations: The Journal of Inclusive Scholarship and Pedagogy 26. 2 (2016): 176-193. Print.
Invited Article/Publication
Decker, Juilee. "“How Enid Yandell ‘Leaned In’ and Became a Flagbearer for Occupational Identity and Woman Suffrage”." Kentucky Humanities. (2020). Print.
Decker, Juilee and Cheryl Jiménez Frei. "“Adapting and Finding Meaning in Uncertain Times: Teaching the Journal of the Plague Year Archive”." History@Work blog (National Council on Public History). (2020). Web.
Decker, Juilee. "Tangible and Intangible Heritage in the Age of #TakeItDown." Landmarks. (2019). Print.
Decker, Juilee. "Theory & Praxis: Museum Studies in the 21st Century." Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries. (2017). Web.
Decker, Juilee. "Museums in Motion Today." History News. (2017). Print.
Full Length Book
Decker, Juilee. Enid Yandell Kentucky's Pioneer Sculptor. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 2019. Print.
Decker, Juilee and Hinda Mandell. Crafting Democracy: Fiber Arts & Activism. Rochester, NY: RIT Press, 2019. Print.
Alexander, Edward P., Mary Alexander, and Juilee Decker. Museums in Motion An Introduction to the History and Functions of Museums. 3rd ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2017. Print.
Decker, Juilee. Technology & Digital Initiatives: Innovative Approaches for Museums. 1st ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2015. Print.
Decker, Juilee. Engagement and Access: Innovative Approaches for Museums. 1st ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2015. Print.
Decker, Juilee. Collections Care and Stewardship: Innovative Approaches for Museums. 1st ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2015. Print.
Decker, Juilee. Fundraising & Strategic Planning: Innovative Approaches for Museums. 1st ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2015. Print.
Published Conference Proceedings
Decker, Juilee, et al. "Virtual Historic Docent for a Living History Museum." Proceedings of the Frameless Symposium 2019. Ed. Juilee Decker and David Halbstein. Rochester, NY: RIT Scholarworks, 2019. Web.
Published Review
Decker, Juilee. "Cities, Museums, and Soft Power." Rev. of Cities, Museums, and Soft Power, ed. Jonathan Schroeder. Consumption Markets and Culture 23 Sep. 2016: 1-8. Web.

Currently Teaching

HIST-322
Monuments and Memory
3 Credits
Monuments are physical objects that were constructed to help us remember the past, but a deeper analysis reveals that the relationship between monuments and the memories they embody is complex and changes over time. We will tackle the process of memorializing, the monuments that result, and seek greater insight into the arguments these artifacts make about the past, the present, and our place in the world.
MUSE-497
Museum Studies Internship
0 Credits
Internship in a field related to Museum Studies (at least 50 hours). Students will apply the accumulated knowledge, theory, and methods of the discipline to problem solving outside of the classroom.
MUSE-489
Research Methods
3 Credits
This class introduces students to the methods of research appropriate for scholarship in the field of Museum Studies. Students will learn how to locate, analyze, assess, critique and conduct research in the field. They will choose the topic of their senior thesis project, develop a clear statement of how that topic will be explored, and construct an annotated bibliography relevant to that topic. This course leads to the development of a proposal for a senior thesis project that is suitable for full implementation in Senior Thesis for museum studies.
MUSE-226
Introduction to Cultural Heritage
3 Credits
Cultural heritage is a fluid term that applies broadly to the creation, protection, and preservation of material objects and intangible practices for future generations. This course examines the concepts associated with cultural heritage and the way the term has evolved over time to encompass many forms of practice. With a global outlook, the course explores the various forms that cultural heritage takes and considers the issues that are raised. Course content may be site-specific.

In the News

  • June 23, 2020

    four researchers looking at ancient manuscript.

    RIT building imaging systems to help libraries and museums uncover lost texts

    Scientists from RIT are developing affordable imaging systems to help libraries and museums preserve and expand access to their historical collections. The project, funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, aims to create a low-cost spectral imaging system and software that can be used to recover obscured and illegible text on historical documents.

  • March 5, 2020

    dean and professor standing in library.

    Podcast: Living History at the Genesee Country Village & Museum  

    Intersections: The RIT Podcast, Ep. 33: Community partnerships are one way RIT provides its students with experiential learning opportunities. James Winebrake, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, and Juilee Decker, associate professor of museum studies, talk about a unique partnership between the college and one of the Finger Lakes Region’s cultural gems, the Genesee Country Village & Museum.

More News  
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