University of California Santa Cruz Museums
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA CRUZ MUSEUMS AS SITES OF SOCIAL CHANGE: EXPLORING PROCESSES OF PLACEMAKING AND BARRIERS TO ACCESS AND PARTICIPATION FOR UNDERREPRESENTED COMMUNITIES A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction Of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in PSYCHOLOGY by Erin E. Toolis December 2018 The Dissertation of Erin Toolis is approved: ________________________________ Professor Phillip Hammack, chair ________________________________ Professor Heather Bullock ________________________________ Professor Regina Langhout __________________________________ Lori Kletzer Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES iv ABSTRACT vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 2: STUDY 1 26 CHAPTER 3: STUDY 2 87 CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSION 146 REFERENCES 157 APPENDIX A 202 APPENDIX B 210 APPENDIX C 214 APPENDIX D 216 iii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1. Demographic characteristics of questionnaire participants…… 50-51 Table 2. Correlations, means, and standard deviations for variables included in the model…………………………………………. 67 Table 3. Demographic characteristics of focus group participants……. 105 Figure 1. Conceptual model illustrating how the principles of critical placemaking facilitate empowering processes and contribute to social change……………………………………………… 30 Figure 2. Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History Theory of Change….. 48 Figure 3. Vital Current: Seeking the San Lorenzo by Camille Utterback. An interactive installation in the museum’s lobby that allows visitors to explore images and history related to the city’s river…………………………………………………………… 60 Figure 4. Bench in gallery with pillows featuring questions written in English and Spanish to prompt dialogue between visitors…… 61 Figure 5. Infographics displaying information about wage theft in the county, created by Working for dignity: Low-wage worker study from the University of California, Santa Cruz Center of Labor Studies, as part of the exhibit on “We who work.”…… 62 Figure 6. Visitors’ responses to a placard asking, “How will you make history?” posted in the museum’s history gallery, written on provided sticky notes………………………………………… 63 Figure 7. Display of suggested actions printed on business cards to support local foster youth, as part of the exhibit on Lost childhoods: Voices of Santa Cruz County foster youth and the foster youth museum………………………………………….. 64 Figure 8. Hypothesized model in which museum participation is linked to intentions for civic action, mediated by place attachment, sense of community, awareness of structural injustice, and civic responsibility……………………………………………. 68-67 iv Figure 9. First modified model in which museum participation is associated with place attachment, which is associated with civic responsibility, which is associated with intentions for civic action. ………………………………………………… 70-71 Figure 10. Second modified model in which museum participation is linked to sense of community, which is linked to civic responsibility, which is linked to intentions for civic action………………………………………………………. 72 Figure 11. First modified model re-run with a dichotomous version of the independent variable, comparing the “arriving” versus the “leaving” condition………………………………………… 74 Figure 12. Second modified model re-run with a dichotomous version of the independent variable, comparing the “arriving” versus the “leaving” condition………………………………….……… 74 Figure 13. Thematic map depicting organization of data into themes…... 111 Figure 14. Thematic map depicting organization of data into themes…… 127 v Abstract Museums as Sites of Social Change: Exploring Processes of Placemaking and Barriers to Access and Participation for Underrepresented Communities Erin Toolis The ability to participate in public places and access public resources is important for individual and societal well-being, yet access to such resources is not equitable across racial and socioeconomic groups. The goal of this dissertation is to explore the psychosocial processes that facilitate civic engagement and lay the groundwork for social change, and to examine how participation in these processes can be made more accessible to marginalized community members. I utilized mixed methods to (a) test the psychological pathways facilitated by participation in place-based, community- oriented settings- specifically, museums- and (b) amplify the experiences of low- income residents and residents of color to document mechanisms of exclusion and avenues for enhancing inclusion. Analyses of questionnaires administered to 543 museum visitors found that museum participation was linked to significant increases in place attachment and to sense of community, both of which were associated with increased civic responsibility and intentions for civic action. Analyses of focus groups conducted with 39 low-income residents and residents of color not actively engaged in the museum shed light on ways in which access and participation in resource-rich places can be broadened to marginalized communities. Experiences of museums as unfamiliar, unaffordable, white and elite, and constraining, sterile spaces worked to exclude low-income residents and residents of color from cultural resources. Focus vi groups revealed insights for reducing barriers, amplifying the voices of community members who have been traditionally excluded from decision-making to explore how community settings can be made more inclusive and equitable. This dissertation has importance in understanding empowering processes that increase stakeholder access and engagement in public spaces and institutions. vii To my mother and father, and to Seán viii Acknowledgements This dissertation has been a truly collaborative effort and I am thankful to all those who made it possible. I am profoundly thankful to my advisor, Dr. Phil Hammack. Thank you, Phil, for your commitment to my intellectual and professional growth, for providing me with enriching and meaningful research and writing opportunities, for encouraging me to make my own path, and for always being in my corner. Your positive outlook, collegiality, and passion are an inspiration to me. I also wish to thank my wonderful committee members Drs. Heather Bullock and Gina Langhout. Heather, thank you for welcoming me as an honorary member of your lab when I first arrived at UCSC and for your willingness to share resources, professional advice, and opportunities. Working with you has strengthened my commitment to conduct community-based research to promote equity. Gina, I have benefitted immensely from your expertise in critical community psychology, your challenging questions, and your attentive feedback. Thank you for pushing me to grow. I could not have asked for a more supportive and brilliant team of mentors who model a psychology of social justice. I also wish to thank Dr. Doug Bonett for his generous statistical support and Dr. Maureen Callanan for sharing insights and connections on the topic of museum partnerships. I am thankful for the mentorship of Dr. Harry Heft, who opened my eyes to meaning-centered psychology as an undergraduate and encouraged me to pursue graduate studies. Your support and theoretical perspective continue to have an immense impact on my work. ix I am thankful to SPSSI, STARS, and the UCSC Psychology Department for financially supporting this dissertation. Thank you also to Allison Land and Kathy Montano for their technical and moral support along the way. To the Santa Cruz community members who generously shared their time and thoughts with us, thank you for trusting us with your stories. This dissertation would not have been possible without the efforts of community organizations doing hard work on the ground to build a more engaged, connected, just community. I am indebted to the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, its staff, and its director Nina Simon, whose vision inspired this project. A special thanks to Lis DuBois for sharing her time and thoughtful feedback with me, and for being an overall supportive and delightful person to work with. It was an honor to partner with the MAH. I am also thankful to the staff at Mercy Housing, and especially Jose Ibarra, Katrina Totten, and Irma Armstrong, for their assistance with participant outreach and recruitment. I am thankful to the staff at Community Bridges, especially Edgar Landeros, Lidia Montesino, and Erick Cruz, whose assistance reserving space for our focus groups and providing advice and outreach support was invaluable to the success of the project. I have been fortunate to work with a stellar team of undergraduate research assistants, including Roy Ludowitz, Esmeralda Galvan, Sareil Brookins, Corrinna Sales, and especially Stephanie Barron Lu. Stephanie’s constant enthusiasm, persistence, and curiosity enriched the project in more ways than I can count. It was a privilege to get to know you all during our many hours spent together knocking on x doors and collecting and analyzing data. Thank you also to my colleague Ibette Valle for facilitating the Spanish language focus groups. Several communities have been a source of ongoing support and learning, including the Blum Center community, the Generations Project team, the NIRG community, the PCI lab, the Economic Justice lab, my writing group, my Ubuntu community, and my Faiths Act Fellows community. I also wish to thank Yael Lachman and Dr. Heather McIsaac for their wise advice. I am deeply thankful for the friends I had the privilege to meet at UCSC, including Dr. Anjali Dutt, Brandon Balzer