SHUM 4634 - Curating the British Empire

(crosslisted) ARTH 4720 ,BSOC 4634 , HIST 4634 , STS 4634

Spring. 4 credits. Student option grading.

Recommended prerequisite: prior coursework in modern history (post-1600). Enrollment limited to: 15 students. Co-meets with ARTH 6720/HIST 6634/SHUM 6634/STS 6634.

J. Ratcliff.

During Europe’s colonial era, the modern museum emerged as a site of cultural and scientific authority. This course investigates the history of imperial collections and collectors, with a focus on Britain and the East India Company in the nineteenth century. Examples of topics include: the “supply chain” for artifacts and knowledge resources; changing conceptions of intellectual property, ownership and access; household versus public versus for-profit collections; museums and the narration of social values and cultural identities; debates over the function or aims of museums and related institutions; the collections and the administration of the empire; the collections and the growth of the sciences; the postcolonial legacies of colonial collections.

For longer description and instructor bio please visit http://societyhumanities.as.cornell.edu/courses.