ARTH3004: Collecting the World
University of Cincinnati Collections, 1819 to Today
Instructor: Dr. Christopher Platts
Description
| Since 1819, the University of Cincinnati has collected an amazing variety of tangible things. Not only books and manuscripts, but plants, minerals, costumes, artworks, musical instruments, scientific devices, and sports paraphernalia. Everything from an autographed picture of Marie Curie to Neil Armstrong’s flight mask to a life-size, marble Venus carved by Napoleon’s imperial sculptor. How and why did these diverse objects come to the University, and what happened to them once they arrived? In this seminar, we explore the history of collecting at UC and its relationship to the evolution of the University itself, including the development of disciplines such as astronomy, biology, medicine, art, law, history, and classics. Simultaneously, we investigate how collecting the world, so to speak, is a form of history-making in which the material things we select, classify, study, preserve, and display help us understand our place in the universe and motivate us to generate knowledge and tackle global issues. To do this, we engage directly with UC’s many remarkable collections across campus, confronting objects at first-hand in the archive, laboratory, museum, and other repositories. Grappling with tangible things and consulting with their keepers not only illuminates the history and purpose of our University, but also highlights some of humanity’s toughest challenges during the last two centuries, including those worldwide problems still awaiting resolution. |
Why take this course?
| Through field trips to UC's different collections, this experiential seminar introduces students to some of the significant global issues that have been (and continue to be) addressed in different academic disciplines at the University and beyond. Meetings with guest speakers and well-selected readings reinforce the students' understanding of problematic issues and demonstrate how -- through research, collaboration, and persistence -- humanity has overcome challenges from curing diseases to traveling safely through space. In addition, short, reflective essays and a creative final project and oral presentation prompt students to think about their own experiences in relation to specific episodes in the history of collecting, the history of UC, and the lives of pioneering researchers who once walked the same halls of the University and in many cases contributed to the collections we are visiting. |