Collecting the world is a newly introduced seminar class, and it is offered through the college of DAAP. Since the inception of University of Cincinnati, it has collected an amazing variety of tangible things, including but not limited to books and manuscripts, plants, minerals, costumes, artworks, musical instruments, and scientific devices. This seminar tries to explore how and why these objects came to UC and its colleges, while also discussing the impact collecting has had on the university and its history. Simultaneously, we discuss how collections and archives are a way of history-making, and how objects can be used to tell stories, generate knowledge and tackle global challenges. The seminar meets once every week, and we had around 12 field trips over the semester. The visits allowed us to confront objects first-hand in archives, laboratories, museums, and other repositories spread across campus. Some of the most memorable trips for me personally were the Oesper history of chemistry collection, Cincinnati observatory and Classics Library. We were able to see and experience objects and artifacts ranging from ancient telescopes to book of hours from late medieval Europe. In-class we had discussions based on various articles our professor (Dr. Chriss Platts) sent us; and we were also roughly following a book called "Tangible Things: Making History Through Objects". We had reflection papers due every week that were either based on our field trip or the topics that were discussed in class.
Our class at University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music costume inventory. Photo credits: Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand.
The class was very unique in its structure and course material. I had a great time taking it and learning more about UC and its history, the deep dives into the department histories across UC were some of my favorite topics throughout the semester. Understanding and learning the details of how some of the most popular departments came to be, was uniquely rewarding and generated a new level of respect inside me. Class discussions were open and collaborative with a good mix of multiple disciplines; I certainly felt like my views and ideas were challenged. Moreover, professor Platts has an incredible depth of knowledge over the domain of art history which made the class very interesting. We were given full control over our final projects, I ended up choosing to do mine on Paul Herget and how his life was influenced by two very unique things, which were punch card machines and pringles. I had a lot of fun completing my paper, it allowed me to explore topics which were in my domain, i.e: astronomy while also letting me creatively experiment with different forms of storytelling. Being in a very STEM heavy course load this semester, this class was a breath of fresh air in my weekly schedule. I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone that has an empty slot in their schedule for the spring. However, do note that the weekly papers did require 2-3 hours of uninterrupted time, which I was finding hard to dedicate as a junior in Physics.