Fall 2026 course opportunity
DMD 3610 Collaborating with Cultural Organizations I: Methods
Museums, archives, and other nonprofit cultural organizations are mission-driven institutions with complex, sometimes fraught, histories. Today, many such organizations seek to explore new ways to communicate ideas, make collections accessible, inspire learning, connect people, and build community. In addition to learning about the histories, structures, and functions of mission-driven cultural organizations, we will explore methods of collaborating meaningfully and effectively with them and their communities. This will include consideration of the ways in which digital tools and media, from apps and games to VR and AI, are being used to critically engage publics in questions about the past, present, and future. We will explore, too, the place of digital public history within contemporary debates about cultural organizations' histories and responsibilities with regard to social justice, activism, and inclusivity.
Learning Objectives
- Gain understanding of cultural institutions as mission-driven service institutions
- Explore principles and methods of community-focused collaboration
- Become familiar with varied uses of digital media to educate, engage and empower
- Build competency in Omeka software for building online collections and exhibits
- Conduct research on a topic relevant to the concerns of contemporary cultural organizations and express that research as an online exhibition
- Acquire basic skills in background research, project planning, and strategic foresight
Open to rising second years and above. Recommended courses waived. No prior experience required.
For more information, contact: Professor Ceglio at clarissa.ceglio@uconn.edu