The International Quilt Study Center & Museum offers a range of classes to both graduate students and to interested individuals. Ongoing lectures, workshops, and symposia present unique opportunities for learning to those interested in building knowledge about quilts and their history. Subscribe to our Quilt of the Month for updates on educational programs and special events.
Courses and workshops are offered to students for college credit, both undergraduate and graduate, as well as to participants interested in noncredit professional development or for personal interest. Please read the course and workshop descriptions carefully to learn about credit availability, pricing and registration deadlines.
Courses & Workshops
- Printing and Dyeing Techniques in the 18th and 19th Centuries
- History of Quilts
- Registration Information
- Printing and Dyeing Techniques in the 18th and 19th Centuries
TXCD 978 Textile History Seminar
Instructor: Dr. Margaret Ordonez
June 2-6, 2008
1 credit
ESTIMATED tuition and fees:
Graduate credit: Nebraska resident, $300; non-resident, $650;
Non-credit participants: $250
This one-week seminar will provide an overview of dyeing and printing techniques developed by 18th and 19th century European and American printers after consumers began to demand painted and printed cottons imported from India. The seminar is designed for graduate students in textiles history, quilt studies, history, and art history, and for educators, collectors, designers and appraisers.
The seminar provides opportunities to examine extant fabrics (in quilts and as documentary examples) to associate specific colors and designs with the processes used to produce them. Throughout the week, IQSC curatorial staff will share selected examples of 18th and 19th century quilts displaying various dyeing and printing techniques to help participants become better able to recognize distinctive printing and dyeing techniques used during that era. Participants will gain first hand experience in analyzing the fabrics in a 19th century quilt in terms of dyes used, pattern styles and printing and dyeing techniques.
Dr. Margaret Ordonez, Professor, University of Rhode Island, teaches courses in textile conservation and historic textiles and costume. She is the director of the Historic Textile and Costume Collection. Her research interests include archaeological textiles and problems in the conservation of historic textiles and costumes. She co-edited the book Down By the Old Mill Stream: Quilts in Rhode Island with Linda Welters. She also manages the Textile Conservation Laboratory and the Textile Gallery at URI. Dr. O is active in the Costume Society of America, the International Textiles and Apparel Association, and the New England Conservation Association. She was named a Fellow of the Costume Society in 2004.
The IQSC will begin accepting registration fees for non-credit participation in this course on October 1, 2007. Admitted students enrolling for credit may register starting March 3, 2008. (Spaces will be reserved for students taking the course for credit.)
- History of Quilts
TXCD 818
A Distance Delivery Course
Instructor: Dr. Virginia Gunn
June 9 - August 14, 2008
3 credit hours
Class limit: 24 students
ESTIMATED tuition and fees:
Graduate credit: Nebraska state resident, $750; non-resident, $1050
Non-credit participants: $600
Learn more about the fascinating history of quilts through this ten-week course created for distance delivery. Videotaped lectures on DVD and a reading list will be mailed to students prior to the first class. Lectures about the history of quilts are given by renowned textile scholars including: Virginia Gunn (past president of the American Quilt Study Group); Jennifer Goldsborough (author of "Lavish Legacies: Baltimore Album Quilts"); Jonathan Holstein (author of "Abstract Design in American Quilts"); Merikay Waldvogel (curator and author of "Soft Covers for Hard Times" and "Southern Quilts: Surviving Relics of the Civil War"); Dorothy Osler (author of "Traditional British Quilts"); Janet Berlo (Professor of Art History at University of Rochester and author of "Wild by Design: Two Hundred Years of Innovation and Artistry in American Quilts"); and Margaret Ordonez (contributing author to "Down by the Old Mill Stream"). Course discussions of assigned readings will take place on a discussion board created on the UNL Blackboard course management system via the Internet. E-mail will be used for private communication.
All students must have a computer with access to the Internet and an active e-mail account. Minimum computer requirements: PC: Windows 98 or Windows XP or higher, Pentium processor 600 MHz (minimum); Mac: Mac OS system 9.0 or later, PowerPC processor 600 MHz (minimum). Minimum requirements for both platforms: 128 MB of RAM, 20 GB of hard disk space, CD-ROM drive, 56 kbps modem, Web Browser: Netscape Communicator 7.0 (or later) or Internet Explorer 6.0. Note: Most versions of the AOL Web browser do not work well with the Blackboard software used at UNL. The UNL Help Desk cannot assist AOL users.
- Registration Information
These workshops and courses are offered to students for college credit, as well as to participants interested in noncredit professional development. For noncredit participants, call 402-472-2911 to register. Mastercard/Visa accepted.
For students interested in college credit, registration is a two-step process. First, you must apply for admission to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Once admitted, you may register for a workshop or course. Note: Because space is limited, please call 402-472-2911 to confirm that space is available before you begin the admission application process.
We encourage students to apply for admission by January 15 to ensure a smooth transition. You may apply for admission after that date, but you may not be admitted in time to register for classes on the first day of registration in March.
UNL offers several ways to work toward a M.A. degree with a Quilt Studies Emphasis. For information on those programs click here. Forms for graduate admission are available from the Graduate Studies Office, 402-472-2878 or click on the link to their website below. Outside the Lincoln area, call 800-742-8800, ext. 2878.
Non-degree seeking students who wish to earn college credit, may request the expedited application procedure when they call; no transcripts are required for this process. For more information, click on the link below for the Graduate Studies web site.
Once you have been admitted, you will be given instructions on the University of Nebraska telephone registration system. Summer phone registration begins in early March.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Graduate Studies
