The guidance video for the 2025 Spring course is now available: https://youtu.be/IQLOEN_Mg7U
Objects around us have different forms and encompass a variety of meanings and histories. How we perceive objects and what we find in them differ for each person, and objects take on a particular appearance each time we interact with them.
In this course, based on the pedagogy of ‘Object-based Learning’, which is rooted in dialogue based on the observation of objects such as artworks and academic resources, participants develop their knowledge and understanding of the objects through conversation with others, while acknowledging their own contexts. Through discussion with others, participants also learn how to accept diverse values.
Through visits to museums, libraries, archives and other cultural institutions within the university, students will learn about the characteristics of various cultural resources and consider the prospects for their digitalisation and utilisation, with reference to the activities of the Digital Archives and Digital Humanities areas.
The course also aims to develop a mindset to question existing presuppositions through collaborative practice and discussion using objects and to learn how to creatively output thinking through digital fabrication practice utilising KeMCo’s information environment.
This lecture is held face-to-face. If there are too many applicants, there will be a lottery.
More information on the course is also available in the guidance video.
Guidance video: https://youtu.be/IQLOEN_Mg7U
Course keywords: Art, Cultural heritage, Academic resource, Conversation, Digital humanities, Co-creation, Fabrication
Museum and Commons I (2025 Spring)
| No.1 | Learning from/about Objects: An Introduction to Object-based Learning (OBL) Share how the class will work and introduce the overall theme. |
| No.2 | Learning from/about Objects: An Introduction to Object-based Learning (OBL) What is OBL? An introduction to OBL, with some practical work using the KeMCo collection. |
| No.3 | Learning from/about objects: An Introduction to Object-based Learning (OBL) In addition to practical OBL exercises, discuss the characteristics of the OBL methodology and the perspectives to be acquired. |
| No.4 | Objects that attract collectors: a tour of the KeMCo exhibition of Japanese old books Learn about the power of objects to attract people and the curiosity of collectors in the context of the exhibition tour at KeMCo. |
| No.5 | Objects in the archive: materials connecting the past and present – a visit to Fukuzawa Memorial Center Visit the Fukuzawa Memorial Center, which collects materials related to the history of Keio, to learn about the characteristics of the objects in the archive and how they are organised and researched. |
| No.6 | Objects that preserve the traces of the creation of artworks 1: tour of a contemporary art archive A visit to the Keio University Art Centre’s archive to learn about the characteristics of materials related to the creation of contemporary art and the activities of the archive in organising, researching and presenting them to the public. |
| No.7 | Objects that preserve the traces of the creation of artworks 2: tour of a contemporary art archive exhibition Visiting the Keio University Artcenter’s exhibition ‘Shuzo Takiguchi and Shusaku Arakawa/Madeline Gins’, which uses archival materials. Consider how exhibitions and archives differ as media for presenting materials. |
| No.8 | Media and art: technology, expression and materiality 1 An overview of the relationship between digital technology/media in contemporary art and a perspective in digital and expression, focusing on media art. |
| No.9 | Media and art: technology, expression and materiality 2 Based on the lecture, discuss the relationship between art and digital technology/media. |
| No.10 | The state of objects in the digital world Examines the state of objects in the digital environment (world) and the relationship between digital data and objects from multiple perspectives. |
| No.11 | Digital data and objects 1 Learn about digitisation methods for cultural objects, including texts and images, through case studies and practical exercises. |
| No.12 | Digital data and objects 2 Through case studies and practical exercises, learn what possibilities digital archives and collections offer for the preservation and utilisation of cultural resources. |
| No.13 | Digital data and objects 3 Learn about the new relationship between digital and objects, and the future vision of cultural resources, with discussion and practical exercises. |
| No.14 | Digital Interaction in Museums How can we create interactions between objects using digital technologies? |
※ This course is organized as part of the University’s educational programme, and is therefore only open to those affiliated with the University.
