Institute for Human Science and Culture (IHSC)

Engages students in advanced topics relevant to museums and archives that will help prepare them for work in these professions. (Formerly 1900:501)

This course engages students in advanced topics relevant to museums and archives that will help prepare them for work in these professions. (Formerly 1900:502)

Prerequisite: Permission of department. The Capstone in Public Humanities provides an opportunity for students to engage in high-level inquiry focusing on an area of specialization through a public humanities lens. Capstone projects are problem-based and practice-centered and draw upon the areas of intersection between the student’s primary area of study [Museums, English, Anthropology, Biology, &c.] and the five common goals of publicly-engaged humanities: Informing contemporary debates; Amplifying community voices and histories; Helping individuals and communities navigate difficult experiences; Expanding educational access; and Preserving culture in times of crisis and change. Capstone projects are designed by the student in consultation with the faculty advisor, aim to bridge theory and practice, and provide a professional experience with direct community impact. 

This project-based course is designed so practitioners, instructors, and community experts can design and teach classes in special topics related to the human condition and rooted in Institute collections. Special Topics represented in this content are professional discussions and hands-on applications of content that helps students gain professional-level hands-on and academic experiences. This course is used to explore issues and culture in human science and culture and to explore what it means to be human. Topics could include restoration of cultural artifacts, paper conservation, rapid mass digitization projects, research, education and outreach to local schools, traveling exhibitions, historic and modern sound and imaging techniques, and other topics that explore and expose the human condition. This course has particular emphasis on community needs and emerging trends that students, instructors, and experts work on experientially and collaboratively. Graduate students are expected to follow the course of study with additional academic research and work to add professional skills to their portfolios. The graduate-level special topics course can stand alone or serve as a graduate section of the undergraduate section. (Formerly 1900:545)