AFRICAN MODERNISM

Credit Hours: 3 · Undergraduate Lower-Level

This course introduces students to the modern art of Africa, drawing attention to its variants in the continent’s different local and regional geographies. Defined by art historian Clement Emeka Akpang (2016) as the intersection of art with political and social concerns, the era of modernism marked a phase of great experimentation in art characterised by the introduction of new ideas, new media, and a shift in the materiality and many other aspects of art. As such, African artists were part of it, yet as Partha Mitter (2008) argues, the discourse of modernism, is an ‘unmarked case’ that implicitly stands for ‘Western’ modernism. In the course, students will cover different aspects of African modernism discourses drawing from literature and artworks from at least each of the continent’s major regions. The main objective is to gain insights into Africa’s contribution to global art. Besides the few celebrated African modernists known in the West, by the end of the course students will have amassed considerable knowledge of more artists ‘on the other side of modernity’ as these will be highlighted throughout the course. Cross-list: AAAS 211 .