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Course Information
Course Information
SUMMER 2023
Instructor: Dr. Buffy Edwards
Course Format: In-person in Italy
Course Description: This course will provide students with a hands-on, in-depth investigation and exploration of libraries, archives, and museums, in and around Arezzo, Italy. The primary focus is to investigate the commonalities and differences shared by the institutions, analyze historical influences, examine rare and unique collections, visit historic sites and institutions while gaining diverse cultural insights within the contents of learning. With a focus on the vital role of the information profession within these institutions, participants will study the organizing, collecting, processing, curating, preserving, sharing, accessing and digitizing items. Studying the cultural, social, or material value in each setting, working to further develop skills as a professional, will exercise leadership in planning, implementing, and promoting the preservation, organization and effective use of society’s recorded information and ideas.
Course Prerequisites: None
Course Goals and Learning Objectives for Students: The goals of the class are to provide a cultural experience within the context of libraries, archives, and museum where learning will take place in a context that brings course content life while allowing for deep learning and potential career applications. This course explores the breadth of activities and functions of cultural heritage organization/historical institutions that are part of the expanding information sciences profession. It focuses on the functions and the management of cultural institutions.
5970 Black Lives in European Art, 1400-1800.pdfLearning Artifact: Digital Museum
Learning Artifact: Digital Museum
Digital Museum: Black Lives in European Art - A digital exhibit featuring the roles of images of Black or African people in European art during the Renaissance era.
Reflection
It's probably not an exaggeration to say that getting to go to Italy and explore libraries, archives, and museums (LAMs) is a dream trip for a librarian or future information professional. I know that for me, being able to spend three weeks diving into the history and practices of Italy's information spaces solidified my interest in this field.
Italy is a country teeming with history and information; it's in everything! From the architecture of the buildings to the streets we walk on, one can find information about the people who lived and worked there. The LAMs are filled with historical artifacts, centuries-old documents, and artwork that depicts the ideals of the countrymen over the years.
Much of the work of these LAMs focus on preservation; access - for various reasons - seemed to be limited to viewing things from afar. In places like the Medici Library, materials are not sitting on shelves for just anyone to pick up; proof of research or learning goals are required in order to view some of the older and more delicate artifacts. The Siena State Archives hold tens of thousands of parchments documenting various state histories. The Borghese Museum in Rome features tons of sculptures and paintings that represent the importance features of their culture.
Despite all of this, the experiences of persons of color were woefully absent from the depictions present in the archives and museums. Initially, I had the thought that they were absent because of their lack of presence in historical (and present day) Italy. This thought sparked my interest, and I wanted to understand more about whether people of African descent were a part of this country's history at all; turns out, they were!
My challenge was to create an exhibit that explored this history and documented the ways that they were represented. I expanded my exhibit to include multiple European countries with the main goal of showcasing the presence of Black people in this place. It directly aligns to my philosophy of providing access - this time to images that are often overlooked - as well as understanding how to create diverse collections of artifacts. Of course, none of these artifacts I have direct access to, but the process of searching for them and the accompanying history gave me a direct knowledge of how to collect materials.
Learning Objective(s) Met:
Goal 1: To gain an understanding of how to create a vibrant and diverse collection of artifacts, resources, and reference materials on various cultures within the African diaspora.
2.1: To learn the history of the relationship between libraries and Black & African Americans and other underserved communities and understand how that influences the relationship today.
3.3: To determine and effectively use technology tools to create, plan, organize, and promote library programs and other services.
My time in Italy supported my achieving these two goals. While learning of how information professionals and archivists in Italy created and preserved their collections, I was able to think more deeply about my own collection, made up of some contemporary pieces but also including a ton of historical materials (goal1). I was also able to learn more about Italy's relationship with libraries and museums, and through searching for these images and their meaning, examine a potential relationship between this minority group and the way they've been portrayed in historical artifacts (2.1). Finally, this entire project is an example of how technology/digital features can be utilized in a collection or program (3.3).
With other MLIS students in Rome for study abroad program in Summer 2023.
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