Art museums are powerful and contested institutions. They are also innovative sites of architectural and artistic practice. From the exhibitionary complex of the nineteenth century to the experiential complex of today, this course investigates the art museum from historical and contemporary perspectives, striking a balance between theoretical investigation and case studies of recent exhibitions and museum buildings. Where and why did the concept of the public art museum emerge, and how have its functions changed over time? How do art museums continue to shape our definitions of what art is? How have they responded to recent critiques of the self-described ‘universal’ museum and to claims for the ethical display of ill-gotten artifacts or the restitution of such objects as Greek vases and bronzes looted from Benin? And why is the Euro-American art museum so compelling a model that it has spread around the globe?
To address these and other questions, we will also go behind the scenes. Visits to local museums and discussions with curators are an essential component of the course.

Beat poet Michael McClure is the author of numerous volumes of poetry, plays, novels, and essays. McClure is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Obie Award for Best Play, and the National Poetry Association's Distinguished Lifetime Achievement in poetry. Tune in as he reads a selection of poems. (28 minutes)

The Harvard Art Museums have produced a coloring book to introduce kids to the art and culture of ancient Egypt. Through coloring pages, drawing exercises, a space to practice writing hieroglyphs, and more, "Coloring Ancient Egypt" explores Egyptian objects in the museums’ collections. It is available in English, Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic. Jen Thum was a 2016 CAORC Mellon Mediterranean Regional Research Fellowship Alum who traveled to Egypt, Lebanon, and Sudan.

In this unit, students become active archivists, gathering photos, artifacts, and stories for a museum exhibit that highlights one decade in their school's history.

In this edition, UC Berkeley's Harry Kreisler talks with Ira Michael Heyman, former Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley and former Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Chancellor Heyman discusses leadership, the challenges facing higher education and the problems of managing public museums. (58 min)

This is a full length monograph aimed at helping libraries, archives, and museums navigate copyright law involving digitization. In the course of the book, though, the authors helpfully unpack many areas of copyright law including Section 108 of the Copyright Act, Fair Use, Licensing, and Risk Management. It is a great primer on copyright law and includes many helpful key points, flowcharts and timelines.

The goal of this unit is to introduce students to the basic elements of art (color, line, shape, form, and texture) and to show students how artists use these elements in different ways in their work. In the unit, students will answer questions as they look carefully at paintings and sculpture to identify the elements and analyze how they are used by different artists.

The 11th grade learning experience consists of 7 mostly month-long units aligned to the Common Core State Standards, with available course material for teachers and students easily accessible online. Over the course of the year there is a steady progression in text complexity levels, sophistication of writing tasks, speaking and listening activities, and increased opportunities for independent and collaborative work. Rubrics and student models accompany many writing assignments.Throughout the 11th grade year, in addition to the Common Read texts that the whole class reads together, students each select an Independent Reading book and engage with peers in group Book Talks. Students move from learning the class rituals and routines and genre features of argument writing in Unit 11.1 to learning about narrative and informational genres in Unit 11.2: The American Short Story. Teacher resources provide additional materials to support each unit.

In this unit, students will produce two major pieces of work.  The first piece is an argument essay that grapples with one of the core questions of the unit: who are we, and who have we become because of the ways we connect? Students will read, annotate, and discuss several texts together as they consider the issues surrounding this question, and they will also research and annotate independently as they search for more evidence and perspectives to help deepen their ideas.  They will also create a museum exhibit as part of a team.  The exhibit project will help students identify what's worth preserving about their unique place in history.

PROJECT UNITS

This project unit continues to meet the English Language Arts standards as it also utilizes the learning principles established by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. It is designed to support deep content knowledge and perseverance through long-term project planning and implementation. In addition, it will help students to recognize, develop, and apply the planning, teamwork, communication, and presentation skills they will use while presenting a final product to their class and/or the greater community. This real-world project-based activity will give students an opportunity to apply the skills they have been learning all year and will guide them to develop the motivation, knowledge, and skills they need in order to be college and career ready.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Students write an argument paper where they develop a claim about current culture as it has been influenced by digital connectivity.
Students participate in a group project to create a museum exhibit that captures a unique place, time, and relationship to technology. Students acknowledge the differing perspectives of each group member and use those perspectives to synthesize one cohesive visual argument together.

GUIDING QUESTIONS

These questions are a guide to stimulate thinking, discussion, and writing on the themes and ideas in the unit. For complete and thoughtful answers and for meaningful discussions, students must use evidence based on careful reading of the texts.

What does it mean to be digitally connected?
What are the implications of living in a world where everyone is digitally connected?
How does the availability of instant connectivity shape our relationships?
What does our Internet use reveal about people's needs as humans?

BENCHMARK ASSESSMENT: Cold Read

During this unit, on a day of your choosing, we recommend you administer a Cold Read to assess students’ reading comprehension. For this assessment, students read a text they have never seen before and then respond to multiple-choice and constructed-response questions. The assessment is not included in this course materials.

In this lesson, students will use the assessment criteria of the Unit Accomplishments to examine their own museum exhibit and an online exhibit of their choice. They can review the Unit Accomplishments in Lesson 3, Task 1.

In this lesson, students will finalize and set up their exhibits. This lesson is their opportunity to bring together all of their research and understanding into a creative format for other people to experience.

During this lesson, students will meet with their museum exhibit team to refine and develop their exhibit's theme. They will decide what stance they want to take on the issue of the Digital Native's relationship to technology.

In this lesson, students will review the museum exhibit project and plan the work process they'll use to research and create their exhibit. They'll also begin to research excellent museum exhibits in order to garner ideas for their own.

In this lesson, students will work independently with their museum exhibit teams. Their challenge will be to use this time efficiently so they get the maximum possible benefit.

In this lesson, students will consider the ways good museum exhibits make use of a hook, an extraordinary artifact with the power to capture the imagination. Then they'll work independently on their exhibit.

In this lesson, students will consider the ways good museum exhibits break their stories into beginnings, middles, and ends to create flow and engagement. They will also work on their museum exhibit.

In this lesson, students will revisit the Viking Voyage exhibit to look for ways to make an exhibit more interactive and engaging. They will also have some time to work independently with their team on their museum exhibit.

The purpose of this third Benchmark Assessment (Cold Write) is to assess what students know about informational writing. Students will respond to a writing prompt, and you will score results as a measure of their progress. Students will also research independently to find information and perspectives for their argument essay.

In this lesson, students will learn about some of the principles of writing an effective conclusion. As they consider how bias works in an argument, they'll apply their new insights about bias to their essay.

People often say that mankind should learn from history. Charles Dickens, whose books are considered classics, set his novel A Tale of Two Cities in the past. He wanted his readers to learn from the bloody French Revolution and from the widespread brutality in London. Both cities (Paris and London) offer the reader a glimpse into dark and dangerous times. As students read about Dickens's Victorian setting and learn his view of the French Revolution, they will think about what makes a just world. Students will have a chance to think about their own experiences, and, using techniques they have learned from Charles Dickens, they will do some writing that sends a message about your own world.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

To complete the unit accomplishments, students will:

Read the Charles Dickens novel A Tale of Two Cities.
Read several short pieces, including a biography of Dickens and excerpts from other literature, to help them understand Dickens’s world and the world of the novel.
Explore new vocabulary to build their ability to write and speak using academic language.
Practice close reading and participate in several role plays and dramatic readings to help them experience the dramatic writing style of Charles Dickens.
Write a vignette and a short narrative piece, and practice using descriptive detail and precise language.
Write a reflection about the meaning of Dickens’s novel.

GUIDING QUESTIONS

These questions are a guide to stimulate thinking, discussion, and writing on the themes and ideas in the unit. For complete and thoughtful answers and for meaningful discussions, students must use evidence based on careful reading of the texts.

How does good storytelling affect the reader, and how can a good story promote change in the world?
What was the Victorian view of gender roles?
How can power be abused?
What is loyalty ? What are the limits of loyalty?