Online delivery of the 'Democratising the Classics' lecture series

Group size: Large
Teaching type: Lecture/open access
Division: Humanities
Subject: English Literature
Tools: Cabinet

Delivery

Democratising the Classics was originally a series of five lectures designed to illustrate the growing influence of classical literature on a newly emerging middle class in the 18th century. An important aspect of the course was illustrating this through access to everyday objects from the time period. Cabinet served as an excellent medium for this, allowing objects such as pottery to be shown in 3 dimensions. The lecture series proved to be so successful that the materials were made available to students as a resource.

Strengths

Cabinet added extra dimensions to materials which are traditionally text based. Students were able to examine high definition 3D representations of objects at a level of interactivity not possible even in a museum visit. In addition to accessing images, students were exposed to a rich source of video and audio materials that brought their course alive, so catering for different styles of learning. The resources also served to create a useful revision tool. Future iterations of the course may well tap into interactive elements of Cabinet allowing students to add their input, so fostering peer learning.

Limitations

Creation of the course can be labour intensive. This is true for the academic who needs to spend time putting together a series of resources, and for supporting staff who are tasked with creating objects such as 3D images.