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_________
ANT 256: Material Culture of the Old World Finding the Old World in Chicago
Instructor: Dr. Morag M. Kersel
Class Location: Arts and Letters 208
Office: 2347 N. Racine, Room B-03
Office: 2347 N. Racine, Room B-03
Class Time: M/W 9:40-11:10am
Phone: 773-325-4434
Phone: 773-325-4434
Office Hours: M/W 12:00-1:00pm
Email: mkersel@depaul.edu
Description:
Generally speaking, the phrase “material culture” refers to the “things” of our daily lives. This can mean things we purchase, create, or otherwise come by. Our material lives range from our bodies to the clothes we wear, the specific objects we use, the food we eat, and the places we go. In essence, it is the “stuff” of our daily lives— products of culture. Artifacts denote a lot about our being. For example, certain objects can suggest our social and class status, the power relations in which we engage, and perhaps most importantly, a place, time, and people that interacted with the object. We both create material culture and are simultaneously shaped by it. The Old World consists of Africa, Europe, and Asia, regarded collectively as the part of the world known to Europeans before contact with the Americas. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the New World (North and South America). As a class we will explore the materiality and physicality of objects from the “Old World” in their place and the places (museums, cultural and educational institutions) in which they reside.
Readings will include both primary sources and anthropological/historical studies. This is a seminar and is not a lecture-based course – emphasis is on class attendance, participation, and presentations.
Course Objectives:
• To gain a broad understanding of the definitions and approaches to material culture from multiple disciplinary perspectives.
• To develop an appreciation for the ways in which material culture both shapes and reflects national and individual identity, with a specific emphasis on the Old World.
• Understand the historical, but changing roles of objects in museums, in nations, in private collections and how a time period, a place, a person can be represented by a single object.
• To instill an appreciation of the potential of an examination of material culture as a means of understanding cultural difference, human diversity, our shared humanity, and cultural constructions of national identity.
• Engage in the critical analysis of material culture on display and programs and application of anthropological approaches in the construction of knowledge.
• Work collaboratively with others in teams based learning and problem solving.
Text
• There is no textbook for this class, but various articles as assigned. All of the assigned readings are available on the D2L site.
Course Format and Evaluation
Email: mkersel@depaul.edu
Description:
Generally speaking, the phrase “material culture” refers to the “things” of our daily lives. This can mean things we purchase, create, or otherwise come by. Our material lives range from our bodies to the clothes we wear, the specific objects we use, the food we eat, and the places we go. In essence, it is the “stuff” of our daily lives— products of culture. Artifacts denote a lot about our being. For example, certain objects can suggest our social and class status, the power relations in which we engage, and perhaps most importantly, a place, time, and people that interacted with the object. We both create material culture and are simultaneously shaped by it. The Old World consists of Africa, Europe, and Asia, regarded collectively as the part of the world known to Europeans before contact with the Americas. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the New World (North and South America). As a class we will explore the materiality and physicality of objects from the “Old World” in their place and the places (museums, cultural and educational institutions) in which they reside.
Readings will include both primary sources and anthropological/historical studies. This is a seminar and is not a lecture-based course – emphasis is on class attendance, participation, and presentations.
Course Objectives:
• To gain a broad understanding of the definitions and approaches to material culture from multiple disciplinary perspectives.
• To develop an appreciation for the ways in which material culture both shapes and reflects national and individual identity, with a specific emphasis on the Old World.
• Understand the historical, but changing roles of objects in museums, in nations, in private collections and how a time period, a place, a person can be represented by a single object.
• To instill an appreciation of the potential of an examination of material culture as a means of understanding cultural difference, human diversity, our shared humanity, and cultural constructions of national identity.
• Engage in the critical analysis of material culture on display and programs and application of anthropological approaches in the construction of knowledge.
• Work collaboratively with others in teams based learning and problem solving.
Text
• There is no textbook for this class, but various articles as assigned. All of the assigned readings are available on the D2L site.
Course Format and Evaluation
Classes
will be a mixture of lectures, guest
lecturers, films, discussion, debates, and student
presentations. This course requires
active and consistent participation through steady
reading, writing, and involvement.
Students are expected to attend
class, read the articles as assigned, and to discuss
the course content.
Grading Rubric
A 100-93
Assignment
|
Description
|
Due Date
|
% Of grade
|
Class
participation
Attendance,
class contributions, discussion leaders
|
Barring
exceptional circumstances, students are expected to attend all classes,
complete the reading assignments, and
participate actively in every class. For each
class students will be asked to act
as a discussion leader
for an assigned article. Each student will be responsible for summarizing a reading and for
posing 1-2 thought- provoking questions.
|
Ongoing
|
20%
|
Assignment
# 1
Old World nations and material culture
|
In pairs
choose an old world nation. Bring a ppt of 5-10 examples of material culture
that are related to that nation and which say
‘nation’ to you.
|
Jan. 20
|
10%
|
Assignment
#2
People
and material culture
Antiques Road Show
|
In collaboration with a partner watch an episode
of Antiques Road Show (available
online at PBS and on YouTube). Assess the relationship between the
owner and their
material culture. Book mark the episode and bring to class.
|
Jan. 27
|
10%
|
Assignment
# 3 Institutions and material culture
How do Old World objects end up in cultural
institutions? Museum Acquisition Policies and material culture
|
Choose an
institution, locate the governance documents (mission statement, acquisition
policy) and assess the history, purpose, and mission of the
institution. Answer the
following question with specific reference to your institution: How
do Old World
objects end up in cultural institutions throughout North America?
|
Feb. 15
|
10%
|
Assignment
# 4
The Old World
in Chicago. Wikipedia entry.
Part 1: Old
World site report Part 2: Material culture report
Part 3:
Wikipage draft
Part 4: Final
presentation and wikipage entry.
|
Each student will
choose an example of old world material culture in/at a Chicago institution. Object will be
the focus of a Wikipedia entry on the Wikipedia site page The Old
World in Chicago. The
project will consist of 4 parts – a site
report on the
Old World nation, an object biography, a draft of the Wikipage and then the final
presentation and upload to the Wikipage.
|
Jan. 25
Feb. 8
Feb. 17
Feb. 29 Mar.
2, Mar. 7
March 16
|
10%
10%
10%
20%
|
Grading Rubric
A 100-93
A- 92-90
B+ 89-87
B 86-83
B- 82-80
C+ 79-77
C 76-73
C- 72-70
D 69-61
C 76-73
C- 72-70
D 69-61
F 60 and below
A Student has read the assignments, actively engages with the classroom environment, and expresses judgments and/or poses questions at each class session; student is prepared, at all times, to give clear summary of the assigned readings and relate readings to in class work.
A Student attends all or nearly all course meetings and does not engage in inappropriate classroom behavior.
B Student participates as above 75% of the time.
C Student does not volunteer, but only responds when called upon; student’s responses demonstrate vague familiarity with course assignments. Student shows little attentiveness and engagement in classroom and/or occasionally engages in inappropriate behavior.
D Student never volunteers, cannot respond to direct questions, keeps silent during classroom discussions and unable to summarize course materials. Student is inattentive and disengaged in class.
F Student sits silently in class, simply taking up space. Student is disengaged in class discussions and pursues in appropriate behaviors such as sleeping, using electronic devices, reading or doing other homework or talking and generally disrupting class.
Your WRITTEN WORK will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
A Demonstrates work of extraordinarily high quality; unusually thorough and comprehensive understanding of issues; presents a clearly identifiable thesis and supporting argument that demonstrates a cogent and creative development and support of ideas.
B Demonstrates work of high quality; reflects clearly organized and comprehensive understanding of issues; presents a substantive thesis and argument with evidence of development and support of ideas.
C Demonstrates work that minimally meets requirements set forward in assignment; reflects some organization and development of ideas, but develops argument in superficial or simplistic manner; may only address part of the assignment or be otherwise incomplete.
D Demonstrates work of poor quality which does not meet minimum requirements set forward in assignment; demonstrates poor organization of ideas and/or inattention to development of ideas, grammar, spelling; treatment of material is superficial and/or simplistic; may indicate that student has not done class reading.
F Demonstrates work that does not meet any of the standards set above.
Seminar Participation
The ability to participate in seminar discussions is an essential skill. Seminars will take a variety of forms including short presentations, debates, question and answer sessions with guest speakers, field trip, and open discussion. Attendance at every class is expected. Emergency-related absences must be communicated to me via e-mail or phone BEFORE THE CLASS MEETS!
A word of warning
“But Professor, I Just Have To Get an A! Or a C!”
Most students want an A because this grade signals a certain type of academic competence and accomplishment. Others, however, are subject to special external pressures brought on by student visas, scholarships, specific requirements for a major, etc., and desperately need a B or a C to stay in college or in their major or to keep their scholarship. The onus for receiving the grade you need is on you, the student who earns it, because—believe it or not—students themselves determine final grades. If there is a lot riding on your grade, get to work at the beginning of the quarter. Sit in the front row, put your phone away, get your notebook out, form a study group, and come to office hours regularly. Every quarter, hysterical students contact me the week after I have submitted grades when there is nothing I can do, and frankly, nothing I want to do. Not only is it grossly unfair to your colleagues to ask for this sort of special treatment, it is totally unnecessary if you have been doing the work all along. If you contact me after grades are submitted to ask if I can change your grade for whatever reason, I will not answer your email, except to cut and paste this very paragraph into my reply.
Unavoidable Realities
If you cannot complete an assignment on time for any reason, you are responsible for contacting me as soon as possible. Late assignments will be penalized for each day after the deadline. You are responsible for knowing all due dates on the syllabus. The final syllabus posted at the beginning of the term will include deadlines for all assignments: it is your responsibility to know when assignments are due. There will be no extra credit material. If you do not complete course work by term's end you will receive no credit for unfinished work.
The course will require students to develop and demonstrate core communication and quantitative skills; critical thinking; integration of knowledge; intellectual depth, breadth, and adaptability; understanding of society and culture; and ability to make informed value and ethical judgments.
Students will be expected to conform to academic honesty codes of conduct (as defined in the DePaul University Student Handbook). Cheating includes dishonesty of any kind with respect to exams or assignments, including plagiarism. Plagiarism is the offering of someone else’s work as your own: this includes taking un-cited material from books, web pages, or other students, turning in the same or substantially similar work as other students, or failing to properly cite other research. Please consult with me if you have any questions.
Subject to Change – Flexibility is Key!
DATE
|
TOPICS
|
READINGS
|
FIELD TRIP/ ASSIGNMENT/ GUEST SPEAKER/VIDEO
|
WEEK 1
Jan. 4
|
INTRODUCTION MATERIAL CULTURE AND THE OLD WORLD?
NUTS AND BOLTS
What the class is about and
expectations.
Syllabus review Assignments Readings
Participation
|
Old World: Mesopotamia (modern
Iraq)
N.
MacGregor (2008). Preface, Mission Impossible and
#15 – Early
Writing Tablet. In A History of the World
in 100 Objects.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/ab
out/british-museum-objects/
|
Neil MacGregor, British Museum TED talk
https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=QpmsftF2We4
Wikipedia pages
|
WEEK 1
Jan. 6
|
THE OLD WORLD IN
CHICAGO
THE HISTORY OF THE OLD WORLD IN CHICAGO IN 18 OBJECTS
Wikipedia entry
|
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Your
_first_article http://oi.uchicago.edu/ https://www.fieldmuseum.org/
|
Assignment 4: Preparation Part 1:
Old World site report
Part 2:
Material culture report
Part 3:
Wikipage draft Part 4: Final presentation
and wikipage entry
PICK AN OLD WORLD OBJECT FROM A CHICAGO MUSEUM
|
WEEK 2
Jan. 11
|
WHAT IS MATERIAL CULTURE?
|
H. Glassie (1999). Material Culture (Chapter 2). Material Culture Indiana University Press.
R. Joyce (2015). Transforming Archaeology, Transforming Materiality. Archaeological Papers of
the American Anthropological Association 26: 181-191.
I. Woodward (2007). Understanding
Material Culture. Sage
Publications, New York. DEPAUL LIBRARY
EREADER
Chapter 1
The Material as Culture: Definitions, Perspectives, and Approaches.
Chapter 2 Studying Material Culture: Origins and Premises.
|
Discussion Leaders (4)
|
WEEK 2
Jan. 13
|
MATERIAL CULTURE
AND
THE OLD WORLD?
CASE STUDIES: MEDITERRANEAN CONTAINERS
THE PACIFIC
|
A. Bevan
(2014). Mediterranean Containerization. Current Anthropology 55(4): 387-418.
H. Geismar (2008). Cultural Property, Museums, and the
Pacific: Reframing the Debates. International Journal of Cultural
Property 15 (2):
109-122.
J. Robb (2015). What Do Things Want? Object
Design as a Middle Range
Theory of Material Culture. Archaeological Papers of the American
Anthropological Association 26: 166–180.
|
Discussion Leaders (3)
|
WEEK 3
|
CLASS CANCELED
|
What are the different
types of function that
|
Assignment 1: Preparation
|
Jan. 18
|
MLK DAY
Nations and material culture
|
can be
ascribed to material culture? What is material culture’s basic function? What is its social function? What is its
symbolic function? Are there “hidden” meanings of material culture in ancient everyday life?
|
|
WEEK 3
Jan. 20
|
THE OLD WORLD AND ITS MATERIAL REMAINS
|
Class presentations
|
DUE Assignment 1: Nations and material culture. Pick
an Old World nation. Bring
a ppt of
5-10 examples of material culture
that say ‘nation’ to you.
|
WEEK 4
Jan. 25
|
THE OLD WORLD AND ITS MATERIAL REMAINS
NATIONALISM, ARCHAEOLOGY, AND OBJECTS
|
K.
Abdi (2001). Nationalism, Politics, and the Development
of Archaeology in Iran American Journal of
Archaeology 105(1): 51-
76
K.A.
Appiah (2006). Whose Culture is It? New
York Review
of Books 53(2).
C. Gosden
(2004). The past and foreign countries: colonial and post-colonial
archaeology and anthropology, in A companion to social archaeology. L.
Meskell and R.W.
Preucel (eds.) pp. 161-178.
|
Discussion Leaders (3)
DUE Assignment 4 Part I: Old
World Site Report
|
WEEK 4
Jan. 27
|
PEOPLE
AND THEIR
MATERIAL CULTURE
|
R. Bishop (2001). Dreams in the
Line: A Day
at the Antiques Roadshow. Journal
of Popular Culture 35: 195-209.
A. Clouse (2008). Narratives of Value
and the Antiques Roadshow: A Game of Recognitions. Journal of Popular Culture 41 (1): 3-20.
|
DUE Assignment
2: Antiques Roadshow
|
WEEK 5
Feb. 1
|
MATERIAL CULTURE
IN
MUSEUMS
COLONIALISM PARTAGE
|
S. Beltrametti (2013). ‘Museum Strategies: Leasing Antiquities’, Colombia Journal of
Law and the Arts
36 (2), 203-260.
R. Harrison (2011). Consuming Colonialism:
Curio Dealers’ Catalogues, Souvenir Objects
and Indigenous Agency in Oceania, in Unpacking the Collection, Networks of Material and Social
Agency in the
Museum, S. Byrne et al. (eds). Pp. 55-82.
M.M.
Kersel (2015). Forum: Storage Wars. Solving
the Archaeological Curation Crisis? Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology
and Heritage Studies 3(1): 42-55.
W. Shaw
(2003). The rise of the imperial museum, in Possessors and possessed: museums,
archaeology and the visualization of history in the Late Ottoman
Empire. Berkeley: University of
California Press, 83- 107.
Voss, B. 2012.
Curation as Research: A Case Study in
Orphaned and Underreported Archaeological Collections.
Archaeological Dialogues 19:145–69.
|
Discussion Leaders (5)
|
WEEK 5
Feb. 3
|
MATERIAL CULTURE BIOGRAPHIES
|
A.
Appadurai (1986). Introduction: commodities and the politics of value, in The Social Life of Things. Commodities in Cultural Perspective. University of Chicago, pp. 3-63.
I. Kopytoff (1986). The Cultural Biography of Things: Commoditization as Process, in in The
Social Life
of Things. Commodities in Cultural
Perspective. University of
Chicago, pp. 64-91. CHOOSE ONE
OF THE CASE
STUDIES
T. el Or
(2012). The Soul
of the Biblical Sandal: On Anthropology and Style. American Anthropologist 114(3): 433-445.
T. Howell (2003). Modernizing Mansaf: The Consuming Contexts of Jordan’s
National Dish.
Food & Foodways 11:
215-243.
R.A. Silverman (2015). Material Biographies: Saharan Trade
and the Lives
of Objects in Fourteenth and Fifteenth-Century
West Africa. History in Africa 42(1): 375-395.
|
Discussion Leaders (5)
|
WEEK 6
Feb. 8
|
MATERIAL CULTURE
IN
MUSEUMS
|
S. Conn (2010). Where is the
East? (Chapter 3), in Do Museums Still Need Objects? University of Philadelphia Press, pp. 86-137.
M. Csikszentmihalyi (1993). “Why We Need Things,” in History from
Things: Essays on Material Culture. Washington,
DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, pp. 20-29. John Urry, (1996). “How Societies Remember the Past,” in Theorizing Museums. Representing Identity
and Diversity in a Changing World, ed. Sharon Macdonald and Gordon Fyfe (Oxford: Blackwell
Publishers, pp.45-65.
|
Discussion Leaders (3)
DUE Assignment
4 Part II: Old World Material Culture Report
|
WEEK 6
Feb. 10
|
CASE STUDY: AFRICAN ART IN THE DEPAUL ART MUSEUM
|
Old World: Africa (Benin,
Ghana)
M.
Lambert (2013). ‘Give and Take: US Museums’
Attitudes and Ethics Toward the Acquisition
and Repatriation of
West African Cultural
Artefacts’, Masters Dissertation, University
of Glasgow.
|
Greg Harris and
Old World Material Culture from the DPAM
|
WEEK 7
Feb. 15
|
HOW DOES MATERIAL CULTURE FROM THE OLD WORLD END UP IN MUSEUMS?
|
Class discussion
|
Assignment 3: Museum
acquisition policies
|
WEEK 7
Feb. 17
|
CASE STUDY: THE OLD WORLD IN CHICAGO
THE DEPAUL SOUVAY COLLECTION OF CUNEIFORM TABLETS
|
Charles L. Souvay Cuneiform Tablets Collection Finding
Aid.
|
Seth Richardson and his old world material culture
Special Collections at DePaul
DUE Assignment 4 Part III: Wikipedia entry Draft
|
WEEK 8
Feb. 22
|
OLD WORLD MATERIAL CULTURE AND CONFLICT
|
S. Al Quntar, K. Hanson, B. Daniels and
C. Wegener (2015). Responding to a Cultural
|
Discussion Leaders (5)
|
Heritage Crisis: The Example of
the
|
||||
CASE STUDIES:
|
Safeguarding the Heritage of Syria
|
|||
CAMBODIA
|
and Iraq Project. Near Eastern Archaeology
|
|||
78(3): 154-160.
|
||||
ISIS AND THE NEAR EAST
|
N. Brodie (2011). Scholarship and insurgency?
|
|||
The study and trade of Iraqi antiquities. In
|
||||
MALI
|
Illicit Traffic of Cultural Objects: Law, Ethics,
|
|||
and the Realities. An Institute of Advanced
|
||||
Studies Workshop, 4-5 August 2011,
|
||||
University of Western Australia.
|
||||
T. Davis and S. Mackenzie (2014). ‘Crime and
|
||||
Conflict: Temple Looting in Cambodia’. In J.
|
||||
Kila and M. Balcells (eds) Cultural Property
|
||||
Crimes: an overview and analysis on
|
||||
contemporary perspectives and trends (Brill:
|
||||
Leiden) 292–306.
|
||||
O. Harmanshah (2015). ISIS, Heritage, and the
|
||||
Spectacles of Destruction in the Global
|
||||
Media. Near
Eastern Archaeology 78(3): 170-
|
||||
177.
|
||||
S. Mackenzie and T. Davis (2014), ‘Temple
|
||||
Looting in Cambodia Anatomy of a Statue
|
||||
Trafficking Network’, British Journal of
|
||||
Criminology
54: 722–740.
|
||||
WEEK 8
|
MATERIAL CULTURE
AS
|
N. Brodie and D. Contreras
(2012). ‘The
|
Morag Kersel and her old
|
|
Feb. 24
|
AMBASSADOR
|
economics of the looted archaeological site of
|
world
material culture
|
|
Bâb edh-Dhrâ’: a view from Google Earth’, in
|
||||
CASE STUDY: EARLY
|
P.K. Lazrus and A.W. Barker (eds), All The
|
|||
BRONZE AGE JORDAN
AND
|
Kings Horses: Looting, Antiquities Trafficking
|
|||
THE FOLLOW THE POTS
|
and the Integrity of the Archaeological Record
|
|||
PROJECT
|
(Washington DC: Society for American
|
|||
Archaeology), 9-24.
|
||||
M.M. Kersel and M.S. Chesson (2013).
|
||||
Tomato Season in the Ghor es-Safi – A Lesson
|
||||
in Community Archaeology. Near Eastern
|
||||
Archaeology
76(3): 158-164.
|
||||
WEEK 9
Feb. 29
|
THE HISTORY OF THE OLD WORLD IN CHICAGO IN 18 OBJECTS
|
Class presentations
|
DUE
|
Assignment 4 Part IV
|
WEEK 9
Mar. 2
|
THE HISTORY OF THE OLD WORLD IN CHICAGO IN 18 OBJECTS
|
Class presentations
|
DUE
|
Assignment 4 Part IV
|
WEEK 10
Mar. 7
|
THE HISTORY OF THE OLD WORLD IN CHICAGO IN 18 OBJECTS
|
Class presentations
|
DUE
|
Assignment 4 Part IV
|
WEEK 10
Mar. 9
|
THE OLD WORLD IN CHICAGO WIKIPEDIA ENTRY
|
Assignment 4 Part IV: Wikipedia Entry Preparation
|
||
FINAL
Mar. 16
|
THE OLD WORLD IN CHICAGO WIKIPEDIA ENTRY
|
Upload Wikipedia entry
|
DUE
|
Assignment 4 Part IV:
|
Wikipedia Entry
|
||||
Assignment # 1
Old World nations and material culture
DUE JANUARY 20, 2016 IN CLASS PRESENTATIONS
Group Writing and discussion assignment
In pairs choose an old world nation. Bring a ppt of 5-10 examples of material culture that are related to that nation and which say ‘nation’ to you. Think about the various “functions” that can be ascribed to material culture: use (basic), social, symbolic, and political. Consider the hidden meanings of material culture in everyday life.
Some potential nations: Afghanistan, Botswana, Cambodia, Chad, China, England, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, India, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Laos, Lebanon, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, Vietnam, Zimbabwe
Background Reading:
B. Anderson (1983). Imagined communities: reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism. London: Verso, pp. 1-46; 83-112; 163-186.
R. Bernbeck and S. Pollock. (2004). The political economy of archaeological practice and the production of heritage in the Middle East, in A companion to social archaeology. Lynn Meskell and Robert W. Preucel (eds.). Malden MA: Blackwell, pp. 335-352.
E. Colla (2007). Conflicted Antiquities: Egyptology, Egyptomania, Egyptian Modernity. Duke University Press. Selected chapters: Pharaonic selves, pp. 121-165. The discovery of Tutankhamen’s Tomb: archaeology, politics literature, pp. 172-226.
A. Killebrew (2011). Who Owns the Past? The Role of Nationalism, Politics and Profit in
Presenting Israel’s Archaeological Sites to the Public, in Controlling the Past, Owning the Future, pp. 123- 141.
L. Overholtzer and C. Robin (2015).The Materiality of Everyday Life: An Introduction. Archaeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association 26: 1-9.
Assignment #2
“Antiques Roadshow” – People and their Material Culture DUE JANUARY 27, 2016 IN CLASS PRESENTATIONS
Group Writing and discussion assignment http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/
Local people bring along their possessions to be evaluated for authenticity and interest (especially associations with the city/area of the country or family history) and an approximate valuation is given. Often, the professional evaluators give in-depth historical, craft, or artistic context to the antique, adding a very strong cultural element to the show. This increases the show’s appeal to people interested in the study of the past or some particular crafts, or certain arts, regardless of the monetary value of the objects. At the core of the program, the focus of the production is on the interplay between the owner and the object – how that object came into their possession, what they think it is worth and the types of ‘value” that can be ascribed to objects.
In collaboration with a partner watch an episode of Antiques Road Show (available online at PBS and on YouTube). Your assignment is to assess the relationship between the owner and the material culture through the following criteria (feel free to add other criteria):
- Does the valuation of the object change its meaning for the owner?
- How does the evaluator assess the object? What type of evidence, relationships, and information enhances or detracts from the valuation?
- How does the object represent the owner (culturally, historically, metaphorically)?
- Would a museum visitor looking only at the object understand the owner, the culture, the historical time period?
Background Reading:
R. Bishop (2001). Dreams in the Line: A Day at the Antiques Roadshow. Journal of Popular Culture 35: 195- 209.
A. Clouse (2008). Narratives of Value and the Antiques Roadshow: A Game of Recognitions. Journal of Popular Culture 41 (1): 3-20.
Assignment #3
How Did that Get There?? Museum Acquisition Policies DUE FEBRUARY 15, 2016 IN CLASS PRESENTATIONS
Individual Writing and discussion assignment
Group Writing and discussion assignment http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/
Local people bring along their possessions to be evaluated for authenticity and interest (especially associations with the city/area of the country or family history) and an approximate valuation is given. Often, the professional evaluators give in-depth historical, craft, or artistic context to the antique, adding a very strong cultural element to the show. This increases the show’s appeal to people interested in the study of the past or some particular crafts, or certain arts, regardless of the monetary value of the objects. At the core of the program, the focus of the production is on the interplay between the owner and the object – how that object came into their possession, what they think it is worth and the types of ‘value” that can be ascribed to objects.
In collaboration with a partner watch an episode of Antiques Road Show (available online at PBS and on YouTube). Your assignment is to assess the relationship between the owner and the material culture through the following criteria (feel free to add other criteria):
- Does the valuation of the object change its meaning for the owner?
- How does the evaluator assess the object? What type of evidence, relationships, and information enhances or detracts from the valuation?
- How does the object represent the owner (culturally, historically, metaphorically)?
- Would a museum visitor looking only at the object understand the owner, the culture, the historical time period?
Background Reading:
R. Bishop (2001). Dreams in the Line: A Day at the Antiques Roadshow. Journal of Popular Culture 35: 195- 209.
A. Clouse (2008). Narratives of Value and the Antiques Roadshow: A Game of Recognitions. Journal of Popular Culture 41 (1): 3-20.
Assignment #3
How Did that Get There?? Museum Acquisition Policies DUE FEBRUARY 15, 2016 IN CLASS PRESENTATIONS
Individual Writing and discussion assignment
Choose an institution (museum, educational), locate the governance documents (mission statement, acquisition policy) and assess the history, purpose, and mission of the institution. Answer the following question with specific reference to your institution: How do Old World objects end up in cultural institutions throughout North America?
Prepare a 2-3 page summary of the governance documents; be prepared to talk about your institution in class.
Potential Institutions: DePaul Art Museum, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, Kelsey Museum of Archaeology | University of Michigan, The Field Museum, The Art Institute of Chicago, Detroit Institute of the Arts, Museum of Art and Archaeology, University of Missouri, Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College, Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Harvard Semitic Museum, Fowler Museum at UCLA, Burke Museum, Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, RISD Museum, Johns Hopkins Archaeological Museum, Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas, Milwaukee Public Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Siegfried H. Horn Museum at Andrews University, Allen Memorial Art Museum, Bade Museum of Biblical Archaeology, Royal Ontario Museum
Assignment #4
THE HISTORY OF THE OLD WORLD IN CHICAGO IN 18 OBJECTS DUE
Part I Old World site report Jan. 25
Prepare a 2-3 page summary of the governance documents; be prepared to talk about your institution in class.
Potential Institutions: DePaul Art Museum, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, Kelsey Museum of Archaeology | University of Michigan, The Field Museum, The Art Institute of Chicago, Detroit Institute of the Arts, Museum of Art and Archaeology, University of Missouri, Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College, Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Harvard Semitic Museum, Fowler Museum at UCLA, Burke Museum, Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, RISD Museum, Johns Hopkins Archaeological Museum, Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas, Milwaukee Public Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Siegfried H. Horn Museum at Andrews University, Allen Memorial Art Museum, Bade Museum of Biblical Archaeology, Royal Ontario Museum
Assignment #4
THE HISTORY OF THE OLD WORLD IN CHICAGO IN 18 OBJECTS DUE
Part I Old World site report Jan. 25
Part II Material culture report Feb. 8
Part III Wikipage draft Feb. 17
Part IV Final class presentation Feb. 29, Mar. 2, Mar. 7
Part IV Final class presentation Feb. 29, Mar. 2, Mar. 7
Wikipage entry March 16
Individual writing and presentation project https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:How_to_create_a_page
Individual writing and presentation project https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:How_to_create_a_page
The British Museum project – A History of the World in 100 Objects (http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/about/british-museum-objects/) is described as “a landmark project” and billed as “A history of humanity” told through a hundred objects from all over the world in the British Museum's collection. We will create a Wikipedia page on THE HISTORY OF THE OLD WORLD IN CHICAGO IN 18 OBJECTS focused on the history of Old World Objects in Chicago Institutions: how and why they got there and their place in the Chicago museum world. I will create the main page and you will add your individual entries to that page.
Each student will choose an example of old world material culture in a Chicago institution. The chosen object will be the focus of a Wikipedia entry on the Wikipedia site page The Old World in Chicago in 18 Objects. The project will consist of 4 parts:
Part I: A report on the Old World nation/archaeological site – the 500 word report should present information on the original location of the object (archaeological site, museum, private collection) and details about the object’s current location – how did the object end up in Chicago?
Part II: An object biography (the complete history of the object in the past and the present) – a 500 word description of the object – material, how it was made, how it was used in the past and in the present.
Part III: A draft of the Wikipage entry – a combination of the first two parts and accompanying images (a map of the country/region, an image of the object in Chicago, an image of the Chicago institution, other relevant images, citations and 3-5 further reading recommendations. All images must be OPEN CONTENT– legally available for sharing (Wikimedia, open context, you took the image and are sharing).
Part IV: A final class presentation and the completed entry uploaded to the Wikipage
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