MUSE 250: The World through Museums Course Description
Although many scholars trace their origin to the European Renaissance, public museums are now a worldwide phenomenon. And while most of us conjure up specific images (that we assume are shared) when we hear the term museum, museums across the globe are incredibly diverse in what they present and how they operate. This course examines contemporary museums around the world, evaluating their roles as social institutions and communicators of heritage in global contexts. In the first half of the course we develop a framework for museum literacy (how to read museums) based on anthropological, globalization, media and critical theories. Museums are seen not just as representations of the world but as evolving mediators in social, political and economic contexts. During the second half of the course we will virtually tour and evaluate museums using this analytical skill set. The class is taught as combined lecture-discussions, with online collaborative work during the second half of the semester. Students virtually visit six museums outside class time, and contribute their results and analysis to class-wide projects using Moodle. There will be no Friday classroom meetings during the eighth to thirteenth weeks in order to provide students with a scheduled time for online and collaborative work. Readings for the course are posted on E-Reserve (no required textbook).