Unframed Objects: A Sheridan-RISD Museum Workshop Series
This Sheridan Center-RISD Museum collaborative workshop series invites instructors to explore object-based teaching and learning opportunities at Brown and beyond. Participants will learn how to access and teach with a wide range of objects in their courses, from photographs to natural history specimens to textiles. Sessions will be held at the RISD Museum, the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, and the RISD Nature Lab. Join us as we explore, frame, unframe, and reframe objects within a pedagogical context.
Faculty wishing to register for the Fall workshops can do so through the Sheridan Center website, which can be found here.
Unframed Objects I: Teaching with Prints, Drawings, and Photographs
Thursday, September 29, 12-1:20 pm
All over the world, the vast majority of museum objects are off-view, packed away in storage, but at the RISD Museum the Prints, Drawings, and Photographs (PDP) collection is available for students, faculty and researchers to view up close–even unframed. Participants in this workshop will look closely at an object from the PDP collection, learn about how objects can be accessed for class use or research, and reflect on strategies for incorporating these objects in their teaching. The session will be facilitated by RISD Museum educator Jackie Delamatre (Brown ’02) and Britany Salsbury, Andrew W. Mellon Curatorial Fellow in PDP.
Unframed Objects II: Teaching at the RISD Nature Lab
Tuesday, October 25, 12-1:20 pm
Just down the hill from Brown’s campus is a repository of thousands of natural history specimens used by RISD students since the 1930s to inspire deep observation and an understanding of design in nature. This workshop will explore ways in which RISD’s Nature Lab can serve as an extension of the classroom and enhance students’ close looking and critical thinking skills. The session will be facilitated by RISD Museum educator Jackie Delamatre (Brown ’02) including a tour with Neal Overstrom, Director of The Nature Lab.
Unframed Objects III: Teaching at the Haffenreffer
Wednesday, November 16, 12-1:20 pm
How can the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology inspire creative and critical thinking about culture and an interdisciplinary understanding of the material world in Brown’s classrooms? Participants in this workshop will examine objects in the Haffenreffer, reflect on strategies for incorporating the museum and its objects into their teaching, and discover its many resources, such as the CultureLab. This session will be co-facilitated by RISD Museum educator Jackie Delamatre (Brown ’02) and Geralyn Ducady, the Haffenreffer’s Curator of Programs and Education.
Unframed Objects IV: Teaching with African Textiles
Thursday, December 1, 12 – 1:20 pm
What are the benefits and challenges of working with international objects in your teaching? How can objects open the door to critical conversations about culture and transnationalism in the classroom? Participants in this workshop will explore the RISD Museum’s exhibition of Yoruba Egungun textiles as well as the Donghia Costume and Textiles Study Center with Kate Irvin (Brown ’93), Curator of Costume and Textiles, and RISD Museum educator Jackie Delamatre (Brown ’02).