This course invites critical reflection upon colonial systems of valuation and collection that have drawn objects of devotion into the cultural and aesthetic realms of our museums. It takes as its focus objects to which and with which devotion is offered—specifically, those artifacts found in the Wright and Logan Museum collections. The course juxtaposes museological modes of seeing and interacting with physical objects with those modes that are opened up when we consider the living presence and complex life stories with which these “objects” are endowed. We will consider theoretical and methodological insights from a range of disciplines, and engage with current ethical and aesthetic debates in museum studies about the status, treatment, and display of “religious” objects in fine art and anthropological collections. Students will design an exhibit intended to draw the attention of the viewer to the multiple and fraught ways of seeing, interacting with, and valuing these objects that are so often also accorded subjectivity and agency. May be repeated for credit if topic is different. (Also listed as CRIS 265.)