Department of English

Why do people collect? What cultural or economic value do collections have, and how is that value assessed? How do people and institutions organize and preserve their collections, and how does collecting organize and preserve knowledge? How does the presentation of objects change in different contexts, such as private homes and personal libraries, or places of worship, such as shrines, churches, synagogues, and mosques? Why do some people choose to donate or sell their collections, and how might public and private collections influence popular taste? When does collecting go wrong, either because of the nature of the objects collected, or the ways in which those objects were sourced, or how the collections are used, for example, for propaganda?

This course introduces students to collecting and collections in the Penn Library, across Penn’s twelve schools, and in the larger Philadelphia area (Free Library of Philadelphia, Barnes Museum, the Mummers Museum, and the Mutter Museum) with possibly a trip to an auction house as well. We will read theories and histories about the art, religion, psychology, ethics, economics, and politics of collecting and think about the ways that collections have affected communities and individuals. We will meet with curators, private collectors, and dealers, and explore virtual as well as physical sites. The final project is a class exhibit, in which students will have the opportunity to present collections of special interest to them.