Course Description
The history of cultural institutions—libraries, museums, gardens, digital libraries, and other settings. An exploration of the meaning and method behind the act of collecting and classifying texts and objects through readings, discussions, field trips to local institutions, written assignments, and a digital curation project.
Athena Title
Cultural Institutions
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
• Students will investigate the history of libraries and museums in order to understand the purpose these institutions serve; • Students will visit the Special Collections Library, Georgia Museum of Art, and other sites on campus in order to learn more about these resources; • Students will learn about various classification and taxonomical methods in order to determine the cultural import these philosophies bring to the presentation of knowledge; • Students will learn about curatorial and exhibition practices in order to practice critical analysis of how information is presented; • Students will strengthen their research, writing, and presentation skills through class assignments which will require use of scholarly sources, frequent written responses, and active participation in class discussions; • Students will learn the content management software Omeka in order to build their own online exhibition, a skill which may be applied in several other Digital Humanities classes.
Topical Outline
• The logic of collecting • Taxonomies and classification • Examination of the history and purpose of cultural institutions, including libraries, museums, gardens, and zoos • Curatorial context • Display context (including online) • Issues in the preservation of materials • Digital Libraries/Digital Museums • Emerging issues in Libraries and Museums • Curating and creating an online exhibition using Omeka
Syllabus