Week Five: “The Objects that Defined America,” Dr. Richard Kurin, The Smithsonian Institution

This week, we go to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC for “show and tell” 

The Smithsonian Institution is sometimes called “America’s Attic.” This winter, Dr. Richard Kurin, the Smithsonian Distinguished Scholar and Ambassador-at-Large, is drawing on the contents of our national attic to present four weeks of “show and tell” using some of the Smithsonian’s most important American artifacts.  The resulting series is, appropriately, called “The Objects that Defined America.” This course uses famous, and not-so-famous, artifacts to illustrate and explore four themes: American Icons, Rights and Liberties, America the Beautiful, and Spirit of Invention.

Prior to his current role, Dr. Kurin served as Acting Provost and Under Secretary for Museums and Research from 2015, and from 2007, as Under Secretary for History, Art, and Culture. During the preceding two decades, he directed the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage with its annual Folklife Festival on the National Mall and the Grammy-winning Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, working with major cultural figures and grassroots artists from across the U.S. and around the world. He also produced major national celebration events associated with the opening of museums and monuments, presidential inaugurals, and the Atlanta Olympics. He is an anthropologist by training with a doctorate from the University of Chicago. 

Smithsonian Institution courses are distributed through edX. Participation in the “audit track” is free but registration is required. 

To learn more specifically about “The Objects that Defined America,” play its brief introductory video, or register, click immediately below 

To learn more about the full range of Smithsonian Institution courses available through edX, visit https://www.edx.org/school/smithsonianx.

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