The Gropius Project

The Gropius Project describes a collaboration between the United States Department of State’s Office of Cultural Heritage (OBO/OPS/CH) and the Oklahoma State University History Department that draws upon our nationally recognized Public History Program, the Graduate Certificate Program in Museum and Curatorial Studies (co-administered with the Department of Art, Graphic Design, and Art History) and the OSU Center for Global Learning. The Department of State’s Office of Cultural Heritage will use this project as a teaching moment both in the continental United States and abroad, using art and objects to help create a new generation of field professionals as well as a mission of cultural diplomacy.  Its focus is designing a permanent culturally themed exhibit for the historic US Embassy in Athens, Greece. The United States Department of State is in the process of shifting its current embassy functions to an adjacent new facility presently under construction thus opening an opportunity for our students to participate in the creative repurposing of the historic embassy building designed by the Bauhaus School architect Walter Gropius (https://gr.usembassy.gov/tag/walter-gropius/  https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/04/29/the-man-who-built-the-bauhaus). This opportunity results directly from the OSU History Department’s ongoing relationship with Mr. Joseph Angemi, Senior Curator for the State Department’s Office of Cultural Heritage, and Tobin Tracey (Director of the Office of Cultural Heritage, DOS).

The Project:

            This project involves a team of OSU students, working under the direction of public history and museum studies faculty, drafting a plan for a permanent exhibit space in conjunction with the repurposing of a space occupied by the American Embassy, Post Athens (Greece).  Themed spaces will center on forward-looking exhibits of history, culture, and associated programming. OSU Students will work with US Embassy Staff in Athens and the State Department’s Office of Cultural Heritage, which will provide general topics, outlines, and project timetable. Students will inventory and study objects drawn from the embassy collection to draft an interpretive plan designed to update the existing “Origins of Democracy” display with a dynamic, inclusive, forward-looking exhibit that emphasizes historic Greco-American connections.

A second, parallel, project involves students in the School of Architecture, OSU College of Engineering, Architecture, and Technology to develop a mock redesign of the Gropius building’s interior space to accommodate and highlight its new purposes. Though this project is a classroom/academic exercise (unlike the exhibit plan which is expected to be implemented), students working on this project will participate in a site visit and coordinate their project with the exhibit design. The completed project will be displayed in conjunction with the exhibit plan and can be included in participating students’ professional portfolios.

Elements:

            Student Work will be organized around a winter intersession class and two long semester courses (History/Museum Studies/Art History and Architecture) that will operate sequentially and in tandem. The Winter Intersession Class (December 2023-January 2024) features a one week visit to the embassy compound in Athens. Working under the direction of one or two instructors (Dr. Laura Arata, Public History, and Sarah Ra, Assistant Professor in the School of Architecture), students will be introduced to the building and collections by Embassy personnel and State Department Representatives. Students will inventory collections, assess prospective exhibit space, discuss exhibit themes, and outline plans for the mock architectural plan. Enrollment for the winter intersession course is projected at 12-14, and will coordinated with the Center for Global Studies, which will manage course approvals, travel arrangements, and, in conjunction with Embassy staff, oversee security clearances and passport checks. This class is open to students from Architecture as well as History, Art History, and Museum Studies. Project coordinators are working to raise scholarship funds to defray program and travel costs, estimated at $3250 per student based upon figures provided by the OSU Center for Global Studies . Dr. Hosmer will accompany the group to Athens in order to supervise the visit and activities.

            At either end of the site visit, Instructors will prepare students for travel with lectures on Greek history and culture, US-Greco relations, public history, and architectural planning. Content will be provided by OSU faculty (Dr. Tonia Sharlach, Dr. Pouya Jahanshahi, Dr. Laura Arata, and Clark Iakovakis).

            The second phase of this project will pivot around two semester long classes, one for History/Museum Studies with Architecture providing the other. While students are expected to choose one or the other pathway, it is possible to accommodate those interested in both. Drawing  upon syllabi provided by the State Department (which has managed similar initiatives), instructors will create courses that combine academic subject matter with hands on practical training. Representatives from the US State Department will consult with instructors on course content and outcomes and participate in classes (via zoom) where appropriate. Students will be provided with clear and concrete guidance for the exhibit and architectural projects. The semester long courses will produce an exhibit plan utilizing collections to articulate an exhibit theme, elements, arrangement, and draft text. The architecture class will operate similarly to generate a proposed plan reconfiguring interior space to meet its new purposes.

            At the close of the semester, students will finalize their projects to be shared with State Department and Embassy personnel for comment and suggested revisions. The project will conclude with public presentations for the University and external communities.

Benefits to students:

            Students participating in the Gropius Project will gain practical experience in exhibit planning, public history, and museology, applied humanities, cataloging and website development, mapping, habitation documentation, which will enhance their professional portfolios. They will experience international travel. The initiative is explicitly transdisciplinary and articulates Oklahoma State University’s land grant mission and meet strategic planning objectives in the University’s strategic planning document. It will provide as model collaboration across colleges and elevate the University’s reputation by offering practical, real-world education for students. The initiative relies upon and extends OSU’s Public History and Museum Studies programs.