COR 3360 Museums, Monuments, and Memory: Global Cultural Heritage
How do societies define and preserve cultural heritage, and what problems arise in the process? Cultural heritage refers to places, objects, traditions, and practices passed down through generations. The preservation of cultural heritage helps maintain a sense of community, connects people with their cultural roots, and fosters cross-cultural understanding. However, history is often written by those in power, and cultural heritage sites typically reflect privileged narratives. Marginalized communities have often faced barriers to preserving their histories and documenting their stories. As nations and communities undergo social and political change, they may begin to reassess dominant narratives and seek out new ways of understanding their past. As such, cultural heritage is not only about places and history but identity and power.
This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to studying cultural heritage, drawing from a range of fields including anthropology, archaeology, history, geography, religious studies, law, museum studies, media studies, tourism studies, and conservation science. Students will explore how heritage is created, contested, and transformed across different global and local contexts. Topics may include the politics of heritage preservation, the ethics of museums, problematic statues, issues of cultural appropriation, debates about the repatriation of cultural property, heritage in the context of armed conflict, cultural genocide, and more.
Through research, field visits, and community-based learning, this course is intended to give students from any background the tools to critically engage with contemporary debates surrounding cultural heritage and practice cultural heritage production. In short, students will look differently at museums, monuments, and other forms of cultural heritage after taking this course. Open to students in the third or fourth year of study. This course is writing intensive.
Prerequisite
COR 1100 or COR 0011. Open to students in the third or fourth year of study.
Course Types
Core Integrative Seminar