Material Literacy & Object-Based Inquiry
The Yale Summer Session Seminar in Art History offers a week of art-historical insight, close looking, and hands-on creative practice with Yale Professor Edward S. Cooke, Jr. Participants explore how materials and techniques shape meaning while engaging directly with Yale’s exceptional art collections.
Meetings run Monday through Friday, with morning lectures, lunch in historic dining halls, and afternoon sessions featuring guided making exercises, object-based study, and behind-the-scenes access to campus collections. The week concludes with a Thursday evening celebratory dinner for reflection and conversation.
Please note that this schedule is provided as a guide and is subject to change.
Monday — The Eye of Knowledge: Connoisseurship & “Gentleman’s Knowledge”
Morning:
- Welcome lecture: Why material literacy matters today, in a world mediated through screens and digital images.
- Introduction to connoisseurship and the legacy of “gentleman’s knowledge”—how relying on the eye alone narrows understanding.
- Seminar conversation on the limits of surface appearance and what we miss when we do not look closely at objects.
Afternoon:
- Behind-the-scenes visit to the Yale Collections Study Center at West Campus.
- Hands-on session examining objects up close to connect visual, tactile, and structural insights.
- Discussion on how interiors, materials, and construction techniques reveal stories absent from labels and catalog entries.
Tuesday — Embodied Artisanal Knowledge: Material Intelligence
Morning:
- Lecture and seminar on artisanal intelligence—what makers learn through touch, repetition, and tacit knowledge.
- Exploration of material origins, behaviors, and the processes that shape form.
- Group discussion on how making deepens interpretation.
Afternoon:
- Studio workshop time: Students work directly with wood, iron, clay, and glass under the guidance of practicing artisans.
- Reflection session on how hands-on making reshapes the way we encounter historical objects.
Wednesday — Visual Taxonomy: Collecting, Display, and the Shaping of Value
Morning:
- Lecture on the history of collecting and display within decorative arts and material culture.
- Examination of how style, attribution, and value have been constructed—particularly within colonial and imperial contexts.
- Discussion on how these systems elevate certain narratives while sidelining makers outside the metropole.
Afternoon:
- Visit to the Yale University Art Gallery collections.
- Object study focused on structural logic, materials, and systems of classification.
- Group analysis of how curatorial choices influence interpretation and meaning.
Thursday — Object-Driven Inquiry in Practice: Material Literacy
Morning:
- Practical workshop introducing methods for object-driven inquiry.
- Step-by-step strategies for approaching objects from the inside out—starting with materials, construction, and physical logic before style or iconography.
Afternoon:
- Students explore campus collections in pairs or small groups to investigate a chosen medium or object type.
- Independent and collaborative research using skills developed earlier in the week.
- Preparation for Friday’s presentations.
Evening:
- Concluding celebratory dinner with faculty, visiting guests, and participants.
Friday — Sharing Insights & Closing Reflections
Morning:
- Team presentations: Each pair shares their object study, discoveries, and evolving understandings of material literacy.
- Group conversation drawing together themes from across the week.
Midday:
- Wrap-up lunch with reflections, questions, and next steps.
- Closing discussion on how to continue cultivating material awareness beyond the program.