HA 788/990 Museums and Premodern East Asian Art History

How do museums outside Asia contribute to the scholarship and presentation of premodern East Asian art history? What are the roles of the art historian? What obstacles do museums face? Class discussion will address the complex history of colonial collecting, the maintenance of objects, challenges of public engagement, as well as East Asian art trends of collecting, exhibition, and display. Students in the seminar will make use of objects in the Spencer Museum of Art, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Spencer Research Library, and elsewhere. Instructor consent required to enroll.