Landscapes of Meaning: Museums and Their Objects

Fall 2016 Yale

This seminar explores how museums shape our understanding of the objects they contain through collecting, interpretation, and display. Participants also will discuss broader theoretical and methodological issues such as the roles of museums in society, relationships between museums and communities, management of cultural heritage, and various issues relevant to museum practice. This seminar will take advantage of the rich collections at Yale in museums and other spaces. There will be some meetings at the Peabody Museum and the Yale University Art Gallery, both in public spaces and behind the scenes, in order to explore the many dimensions of meaning created therein. Thank you for your patience as we complete the development of this new course.  There also will be several guest speakers and hopefully an optional field trip during fall break.