AH 345 - Museums and the Construction of Other

Upper Division

This course is an historical and theoretical examination of the museum and gallery spaces as sites where cross-cultural representations of the “Others” are shaped, constructed, negotiated, and/orresisted. It starts with an historical overview of the formation of museums in the West in the late 18th and early 19th century as public educational institutions and the development of ethnographic exhibitions. We will look at the cultural maps that define the boundaries and contact zones between cultures in order to understand how the reception of non-Western cultures is framed by the way that Western museums classify and display the art objects belonging to those cultures. The study will also re-pose the same question in regards to gender identity formation, as well as the complex process of overlapping and conflicting identities as part of the museum experience.

Core Curriculum Designation(s)
ACP, ARTS, HUM, HSP - Arts and Humanities Analysis and Practice, GIP - Global Issues and Perspectives

Repeatable
Yes

Fee
$50

Additional Notes
Previous course number: AH 144

Course credits: 4