The Proseminar equips students with the skills required for scholarship in the history of design and the decorative arts. In-class discussions introduce a range of methodologies and critical approaches. Exercises train students in essential tasks such as conducting formal analyses, writing catalogue entries, and making visual presentations. This writing-intensive course stresses the mechanics of expository writing through projects that require students to conduct and integrate primary and secondary source research. Each student selects one work from the Cooper-Hewitt collection to study throughout the semester. Preliminary drafts of papers, proposals, and bibliographies will also be submitted throughout the semester.

The Proseminar equips students with the skills required for scholarship in the history of design and the decorative arts. In-class discussions introduce a range of methodologies and critical approaches. Exercises train students in essential tasks such as conducting formal analyses, writing catalogue entries, and making visual presentations. This writing-intensive course stresses the mechanics of expository writing through projects that require students to conduct and integrate primary and secondary source research. Each student selects one work from the Cooper-Hewitt collection to study throughout the semester. Preliminary drafts of papers, proposals, and bibliographies will also be submitted throughout the semester.