HIST 364 – Thinking with Objects: Processing a Museum Collection from Southern Africa

In Thinking with Objects, students will gain hands-on experience processing a collection of Namibian artifacts in Wesleyan’s care. The course will introduce students to many of the ethical and practical challenges facing museum collections today, providing an opportunity to apply the ideas we discuss all semester by processing a collection of decorative and everyday objects made from diverse materials (wood, beads, animal hide, and shells). Part of the course will be the investigation of the origins and function of these objects. Learning how to handle, label, store, and potentially exhibit objects from the collection will enable students to reflect on Wesleyan’s relationship to the African continent, and to think more generally about university and museum collections and methodologies