Studying secret society: Alisa Luxenberg explores history of Freemasons with help of Special Collections Libraries

Maybe you’ve considered joining a fraternity, but how about one of the oldest brotherhoods in history?

Alisa Luxenberg, a professor of art history at the University of Georgia, was recently selected as one of eight staff participants in the 2019 Special Collections Fellows Program, with which she will create and teach a brand new course on the history and visual culture of Freemasonry, the male order of Free and Accepted Masons and the world’s largest secret society, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.

Luxenberg said the Special Collections Libraries holds many artifacts of ancient Freemason descent, and many symbols of the university contain traditional Freemason motifs. She plans to have the class focus on practices of Freemasonry around Athens, which still operate today.

As a participant in the Special Collections Fellows Program, Luxenbergis building an entire course from the ground up, focusing less on lectures and encouraging more hands-on learning by working with artifacts in theSpecial Collections Libraries. Her hope is that students will gain applicable skills in library research and interpreting visual culture.