Author
Syd Young
Publish Date

Exhibiting Asia at ISM: A Student Led Digital Exhibit In Progress

Two people stand behind a table displaying historic Japanese armor.

For the past month, students from Dr. Peter Shapinsky's ECCE HIS 486: Exhibiting Asia: Trans-Pacific Material Culture course have been hard at work researching and photographing various objects from 18th-20th century Japanese artifacts at the Illinois State Museum's Collection Center. There students worked alongside one another, ISM staff members, and Dr. Shapinsky to "adopt" objects. Student's learned through first hand experience how to research while at an archive and how to handle primary resources.

One student, Mikayla Rodgers described their experience at the collection center as "a good place for anyone who wants to do museum work as a career. You get experience working as a curator with professionals."

After visiting the collection center, students will return to the classroom on campus and work collaboratively to investigate how their "adopted" items shape their own identities and how the objects fit within themes of politics, gender, status, and militarism in Early Modern and Modern Japanese history. Students will eventually combine their research and create a digital exhibit of their items as the course's final project.

Three people in a room examine swords on a table, wearing blue gloves. An American flag and others in the background create a classroom atmosphere.
A person wearing gloves sitting at a table with a embroidered black garment
Person in a blue shirt and gloves examines a colorful landscape print at a table, surrounded by notes.
A woman with gloves talks to a seated person, displaying dyed fabrics on a table.

Check back here at the end of the semester to view the hard work of these wonderful students!!!! Until then check out the digital exhibit from Fall 2024, Legacies of Everyday Life in Early Modern and Modern Japan: East Asian Artifacts from the Illinois State Museum