Tufts University is offering a graduate certificate focused on training students to “target whiteness” and “colonialism” within art museum practice. The program, titled “Anti-Racist Curatorial Practice,” centers on reinterpreting museum collections through ideological frameworks rooted in race, identity, and decolonization.
Students in the program must complete five courses, including a required class titled “Art, Whiteness, and Empire: The Art Museum as an Imperialist Repository.” This course trains participants to analyze art objects using “anti-racist object analysis” and encourages critique of “imperialist, colonialist, and white supremacist” influences in curation. The university describes the museum as a “colonial archive” that perpetuates dominant white narratives.
Coursework emphasizes deconstructing traditional curatorial methods by teaching students to adopt a “non-white lens” and view museum practices as reinforcing systemic oppression. The curriculum includes material on “radical ethical frameworks,” calls for restructuring museum institutions, and claims that conventional curation is rooted in “white cultural norms.”
The program’s faculty includes Kelli Morgan, a prominent advocate for racial equity in museums. Morgan, who has held roles at major institutions, argues for reshaping the museum field to elevate marginalized voices and dismantle institutional power structures.
Critics say the Tufts program is another example of ideological indoctrination in higher education. Conservative commentators argue the initiative replaces historical objectivity with political activism, turning museums into platforms for social justice rather than repositories of culture and history. Concerns have also been raised about potential taxpayer support for a program rooted in controversial social theories.
The program is part of a broader trend across universities promoting race-centered curricula. Tufts offers similar coursework in areas such as “Black Lives Matter” and the “Anthropology of Whiteness,” further highlighting the shift in academic priorities from classical education to political theory.
As debates over race and history continue nationwide, Tufts’ art program stands as a flashpoint in the culture war over education and the future of American institutions.
