“The class really emphasizes how lucky we are to have all these wonderful things in our collections,” he said.
However, one senior, who requested anonymity to avoid jeopardizing her grade, said she was disappointed by the class.
“It’s not what I expected,” she said. “I expected it to be more related to Harvard’s collections and the general history behind them.”
Gaskell said he was not surprised by mixed student reaction to the course.
“I think there’s a certain strand of bewilderment to studying objects in this way,” he said.
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—Staff writer Rebecca D. Robbins can be reached at rrobbins@college.harvard.edu.