The Material Culture of Hope

The history of emotions is a field of historical research concerned with human emotion, especially variations in their experience and expression throughout cultures and historical periods. In this seminar, by looking at artefacts, objects, and art, we will try and construct a field of material culture in which emotions play a central role, hope being one of them. Examples may vary from votive offerings to memorials, and from religious rituals and performances to civic ones. By drawing on the large collections of New York City, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Jewish Museum, the NYPL, and the Morgan Library, we will uncover an uncharted chapter in the history of art and design. 3 credits. Satisfies the geocultural or chronological requirement.