This fall Associate Curator of Education Kathrine Schlageck and Curator Liz
Seaton reprised their University Honors Program seminar, “Wading
Through a Complex Visual World.” The introductory course for freshman honors students uses the museum’s collections and its fall exhibitions to discuss art as a form of communication, a way to make connections between different subject areas, and a means of developing critical thinking and evidence-based reasoning skills. Students investigate diverse topics, including the science of art conservation and art as a form of social justice.
Sylvia Fritz, a student in last year’s course reflected: “Visual literacy helps to
train your mind to look at everything in a new light and in more detail, so
that you can appreciate your daily life from a new angle every day.” Student
Kelsey Wilson noted: “Since I am studying secondary education in biology, I will encounter many drawings depicting organ systems, ecosystems, etc. … Being visually literate [will help] me to take the time to examine the components of the images and comprehend [them] as a whole.
Associate Curator of Education Kathrine Schlageck engages with students in the museum.