African Art & Visual Culture

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This course will introduce students to the visual arts and expressive cultures of Africa and the African Diaspora. We will examine objects up-close at the Snite museum and use slides, videos, and musical recordings in class to root works more deeply in the historical and geographical context(s) of their production, display, and circulation. We will analyze canonical examples of monumental architecture, danced sculpture, and leadership regalia that define the field, while engaging with equal interest in the stuff of everyday life such as hairstyles, street fashion, even the music-blaring boom boxes of those often left at the margins of art history. Through the semester-long practice of looking at ?African things? with curiosity and intention, this course will build students? skills in visual analysis, critical thinking, and comparative writing with the goal of increasing their awareness as global citizens and inspiring further engagement in cross-cultural experience no matter the context.