Tangible Things
- Free to audit
- Paid certificate
- Course certificate
- Beginner
- 10 weeks
Tangible Things uses objects from Harvard's museums, libraries and collections to teach how historians, curators, archivists and preservationists work and how material things have shaped academic disciplines and the boundaries between people. The items range from a Gutenberg Bible, Turkish sundials, a Chinese crystal ball and a divination basket from Angola to Henry David Thoreau's pencil, a life mask of Abraham Lincoln, chemicals captured from a Confederate ship and nineteenth-century spirit writing chalked on a child's slate. Through close looking at single objects you learn the basics of historical analysis and interpretation, approaches to museum curation, and how things that seem to belong to different fields can speak to one another and push past disciplinary boundaries.
It is self-paced, ten weeks long at 2 to 6 hours per week, and rated introductory. Harvard lists the course as free to audit on edX, with a verified certificate available for $69.
What you’ll learn
- Understand approaches to museum curation
- Apply the basics of historical analysis and interpretation
- Describe the work of historians, curators and collectors
- Read a single object closely across disciplinary boundaries
Who it’s for
Museum-goers, collectors and history readers who want to learn how experts read objects; no background needed.
Source: Harvard Online (opens in a new tab) · Verified · Report a change
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