EGMT 1530

Topic was something about collected objects. I thought it would literally be about how we view the world through this, but it ran as an art history class. I mean, she ran it like a legit class. Participation was more of a 'interact within your table' type deal. You had to do readings and write discussion questions on them for hw. Then you had to do a weekly journal, but that ran more as an analysis of the readings, which I didn't like, and she graded things fine. I ended with an A. This is an engagement though, like she did not need to treat it so seriously. Like we had legit class slides and everything. It was a fine class though. But I was falling asleep often. #tCFS24

By far my favorite engagement ive taken at uva, the course material is very engaging and the discussions are really insightful, discusses a lot of topics that I would not have thought twice about, and really taught me a lot of new things about uva, tj, and museums in general. the grading was also very clear and I like that the group project was during class so it wasnt a lot of work outside of class.

I took "Encountering the World Through Collected Objects" with Dr. Smith and I really loved it! Full disclaimer, it's not about collected objects or hoarding or everyday things like that, it's about artifacts, museums, repatriation, colonialism, and subjects in that sphere (which I really didn't know going in lol). Dr. Smith is a great professor though, and she gives very interesting lectures on perspectives you've probably not thought of before. The class is really well organized, and her syllabus gives you really clear deadlines. There are a couple readings for each class that don't take too long to read, and you submit a short discussion thought on the readings/class content before every class, plus a weekly reflection every Friday. She does ask a lot of questions to the class, but she never picks people out individually. There is a group debate project and a final research project, but neither of them take too much out-of-class time to finish. Overall, Dr. Smith was a great professor and definitely take this class if you're interested in learning how imperial powers influence museums and how Western countries represent other cultures ! #tCFfall22