As part of their course in “Comparative Cultures,” the senior class visited Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. With their tutor, Dr. Eric Buck, they explored the art of some of the cultures they had studied through their close reading and discussion of non-western texts. As some of the seniors later expressed, this trip provided a concrete encounter with these cultures; a perspective that cannot be obtained from reading texts. Remarking on the importance of this trip to the study of these cultures, one senior, Sydney Mailloux ‘19, noted that “art is one of the most defining characteristics of culture.” Indeed, she saw the trip as establishing a “physical connection with the culture.”
Similarly, Emma Towne ’19 agreed that art provided a window into culture, remarking that “art can capture a people’s attitude toward life.” During their tour, Miss Towne was delighted to discover objects dating from to three thousand years ago.
This trip, an annual event, allowed seniors to bring their emerging understanding of non-western cultures–an understanding primarily obtained through the reading of texts–into a dialogue with the material and visual creations of those cultures, seeing these cultures through the window of art.
– Contributed by Adriana Smith ’22.