J-Term

Course Information

GENERAL 675- Cabinets of Curiosities to Museums and Back, 4 credits (Temple Burling)

If you could build a museum, what would you put in it?.

Museums today serve multiple functions beyond simply displaying interesting objects. They perform diverse roles in the acquisition, preservation, and cataloging of their collections. Museums have become important educational and cultural institutions in their own right.

Museums trace their origins to the Renaissance when so-called cabinets of curiosities or Wunderkammern gained popularity in 16th and 17th century Europe. Early cabinets were the work of avid collectors who were being introduced for the first time to objects and art from previously unknown cultures as a result of exploration of Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the New World. The cabinet creators were encyclopedic in their approach, attempting to fill their collections with the rare, the amazing, and the exquisite. Extensive catalogs of these collections were produced which documented the vastness of human and natural creation contained in these Wunderkammern. The collections and catalogs of 18th century cabinets of curiosity helped lead to the development of early museums.

In this course we will trace the development from Wunderkammern to museums. We will visit several museums in Kenosha, Milwaukee and Chicago. These visits will include more traditional museums of Art, Science and Natural History, as well as several less traditional museums. We will gain a deeper appreciation for the collections, the collectors, and the institutions that house them. Finally, we will have the opportunity to respond to these experiences by producing a cabinet of curiosity of our own. Students will plan, execute, and catalog a small exhibit of his/her choosing in consultation with the course instructor. The resulting collection of exhibits will form a small-scale temporary museum; a Carthage College Cabinet of Curiosities. 

This course may include a trip component: contact Professor Burling for more information.



Meeting Time: MTWRF 9-12
Prerequisites: Must love the idea of spending several full days on your feet in museums. (I''m not kidding, people who are bored after an hour in a museum will really not enjoy this experience)
Fee: $250 for materials and admissions.