Cultures and Collections:
From Cabinets of Curiosity to Cyberspace

United States section of the Great Exhibition of 1851, London

Instructor: Fr. Bucko, S.J.
Location: Social Science Data Lab (A 426)
(Main Campus Map)
Fall Semester 2001
Tuesday 3:00 - 6:00 PM
Course Schedule
Course Discussion Archive
Museums Home Page

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course examines anthropological concepts of culture as instantiated in the history of museums and museum display. Students will gain an understanding of the history of anthropology, the evolution of museums in the wake of expanding European exploration and colonization, and contemporary ethical critiques of anthropological theories and European expansionisms. Students will learn basic web page creation skills as part of this course so that each may create as a final project a virtual museum based in a non-Western culture to demonstrate mastery of the course materials.

The course will be run seminar style. The professor will act as facilitator rather than lecturer. Students will be expected to prepare readings ahead of class and individual students will present the material in each class, and stimulate discussion.

A significant part of this class will take place on the internet, an important access point to museums around the world. While no initial computer competency is required it is expected that students are willing to learn their way around a computer and the internet.

Students are encouraged to work cooperatively in order to experience the collaborative dimension of intellectual pursuits. Each team will be responsible for class presentations. Students will write individual evaluations of the museums we visit. Each student will construct a public museum on the internet.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Through using a core text books, student led seminars, a midterm exam, and the construction of a virtual museum which will count as the final exam, this course seeks to fulfill these goals:

• Students will learn about the growth and development of museums in the United States and Europe and the interrelationship of museums with the social theories of their times
• Students will grapple with the difficult ethical issues of cultural property, preservation and education, copyright and representation of peoples and cultures.
• Students will gain a knowledge of virtual museums on the web as well as physical museums in the Omaha area through visits and critical analysis.
• Students will hone their presentation and research skills through leading seminars on specific topics concerning museums.
• Students will develop an expertise in some cultural area by researching and constructing an education museum for public display on the internet.
• Students will gain a basic to intermediate knowledge of web page construction, image scanning and sound reproduction as they construct their museums on the web.
• Students will learn to collaborate with each other as intellectual partners through group seminar presentations and assisting each other in the technicalities of their museum construction.
• Students will integrate ethics with theory by applying the ethical principles they learn specifically to their own museums.

COURSE TEXTS

Ames, Michael. Cannibal Tours and Glass Boxes: The Anthropology of Museums. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.

Hein, Hilde. The Museum in Transition: A Philosophical Perspective. Washington, D.C. Smithsonian Institution Press

COURSE RESOURCES

Our course will take place in the Social Science Data Lab, Administration 426. You may use the lab for your work at other times of the day. Please check the schedule for times during the day and evenings when the lab is open. Students are free to work on their web pages from any suitable location.

In addition to the Data Lab, Creighton has a newly innaugurated Student Technology Center. Here you will find two state-of-the-art multimedia work areas located within the Old Gym 4th Floor Student Computer Lab. Facilities in the lab Include a high quality flat screen monitor, digital video camera, digital still camera, scanner, programming and editing software.

GRADING

Grades will be determined in the following manner:

Participation 30%
Short Papers 30%
Term Project 40%



Letter Grades are Awarded as Follows:

A	100 - 90
B+	89 - 85
B	84 - 80
C+	79 - 75
C	74 - 70
D	69 - 65
F	Below 65

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Class Attendance:. Because this is a seminar class attendance and participation are vital to the success of each presentation. You are expected to attend all classes. If you cannot attend a specific class you are expected, when possible, to inform the professor before the class begins.

ACTIVE Class participation: You are expected to read all texts, BEFORE each class. Readings and assignments are due on the date they are listed in the course page. Because the success of the class as an experience in collegial collaboration depends on discussion among seminar members, a special focus will be placed on participation. Attendance, deep thought, reading the material, attentiveness, and interest are all vital to your success in class but represent passive participation. Active participation enhances the educational experience for everyone in all of the classes. You are expected to give significant and consistent input concerning each issue put before the class. You will be graded accordingly.

Four Local Museum Visits: You are required to visit four different museums and write a critique on each museum based on our course readings and discussions. Because of problems with schedules and coordinating common times, you will visit each museum on your own. You will receive one week's class meeting and preparation time in compensation for the time you will spend at the museums. The first museum you visit will be the Joslyn. You have the option of choosing three other museums in the Omaha area.

Six Virtual Museum Visits: You will find six virtual museums and and write a critique on each museum based on our course readings and discussions.

Ten Critiques: You are required to write four critiques, one for each of the actual museums visited, and six critiques of the virtual museums you select. Each paper should be from 3 - 5 pages and reflect some aspect of the course readings and discussions applied to the specific musuem you are visiting.

Construction of a Virtual Museum: Each student will produce a virtual museum display some set of objects and reflecting what has been learned in the course.

Computing:: You are expected to be able to use e-mail, the BSCW, the discussion list ( hrs331@creighton.edu ), search engines, word processing and master the art of creating and maintaining web pages to enhance your educational experience in this class. Each student is required to have an active e-mail account at Creighton. All correspondence will be sent to that account. The professor will teach the students all the electronic skills necessary for this course so a current lack of confidence in this area should not discourage a student from signing up for the course. If you wish to manipulate your account so that your mail is forwarded to another service you may use AMI ( http://ami.creighton.edu ) for this purpose.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

It is required that students exercise academic integrity as outlined in the Creighton University Student Handbook. Students are expected to interact with each other in a way which will enhance the learning experience of all and which is never destructive of other pesons. Because of the importance of acknowledged collaboration, students are required to cite all assistance, including that gained from peers. Students must never plagiarize. The professor maintains an audit policy for this course to both reward extraordinary performance and to guard against misuse of sources. Infringements of academic will be delt with according to Creighton University norms.

SPECIAL NEEDS

If you have any special learning needs or are in circumstances which necessitate special consideration, please contact me at the beginning of the semester. If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations, please contact me within the first week of class or as soon as possible. Students who believe that they have a disability that may influence their academic performance, but who have not yet had the disability documented, should immediately contact and meet with Denise Le Clair, Coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities. If a student suspects a disability, he or she can meet with Linda Pappas who is the Academic Success Counselor at Creighton's Counseling and Pyschological Services.
 

GENERAL INFORMATION

Office: Admin Bldg 433

Office Hours:
Tu: 12:45 - 2:45 PM
Wed: 8:00 - 10:00 AM
Th: 8:30 - 10:30 AM
and by appointment

Phone:
OFFICE EX 3587
HOME EX 3115 (do not call after 9:00 PM)

E-mail Address: bucko@creighton.edu
Mail for Fr. Bucko

and by appointment 

There will be a sign-up sheet on my office door. Please sign up for as much time as you think will be necessary.

E-Mail Office Hours:
I normally check my e-mail several times a day. I receive over 100 e-mail messages a day. Generally you will receive a brief reply from me. I am not being dismissive of your message but expeditious in working through my mail. If you find my response inadequate, please notify me and I will respond again more fully. If your question or request is complicated, I may ask you to sign up for office hours rather than respond to you by e-mail. Because I encourage electronic communications, I guarantee that I will check my e-mail and respond to your questions and requests at minimum on the following days and times:

Monday 6:00 AM

Wednesday 6:00 AM

Friday 6:00 AM

CLASS LECTURES AND REQUIRED READINGS

Please refer to the course schedule for all reading and web production assignments. Note that nothing will be added to this schedule once the semester has begun. My assumption is that the students will actively shape how the course proceeds so I will rely on student input in the first week to refine our way of proceeding.

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This page is managed by Rev. Raymond A. Bucko, S.J. of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Creighton University. E-Mail: bucko@creighton.edu Page Last Updated: October 20, 2001

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