Rummaging as a strategy for creative thinking and imaginative engagement in higher education

This chapter explores sensory engagement with objects by students from various disciplines, not necessarily to inspire the making of things, but to inspire ideas and encourage critical thinking. Foregrounded by current thinking on materiality (particularly Classen and Howes, 2006; Dudley, 2010; Edwards, Gosden and Phillips, 2006; Howes and Classen, 2014) and on using (Paris, 2002; Wood and Latham, 2014) and handling museum objects (Candlin, 2007, 2010; Chatterjee, 2008; Pye, 2007), the chapter aims to demonstrate the value of what will be referred to as rummaging: of museums opening up their collections and allowing for the unknown, the serendipitous and the unexpected to take place.