Students enrolled in this seminar will be engaged in the ongoing installation of the South and Southeast Asian Galleries at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Together, we will first review the voices and visions guiding the display of South and Southeast Asian art in the U.S. in the 20th and 21st centuries and then study the forms and functions of objects in the DIA's permanent collections. Thereafter we will confer with specialists on their physical condition, propose provisional object groupings, gauge public interest in them through focus group testing, revise groupings based on feedback received from stakeholders, and learn to develop interpretative materials. This practice-oriented training will provide students with the skills necessary should they wish to pursue a curatorial career.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $50-100.

HISTART concentration distributions: C. Asia, D. Europe and the US, 2. Medieval, 4. Modern and Contemporary

Course Format: Lectures delivered by the professor and student presentations.