Interpreting and Exhibiting Textiles from North Africa and Southwest Asia

Undergraduate / Graduate

This seminar explores visual culture and historical arts of Africa primarily from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries with a focus on traditional textiles and adornment in North Africa and Southwest Asia. We will cover that broad geographical range with case studies that center on production, practices, and uses for textiles and related objects of devotion in everyday life. Investigations will highlight textiles' tangible and intangible elements to examine their spiritual and protective dimensions through various lenses: organized religions, including the three Abrahamic faiths, local belief systems and ritual practices, social or political organizations, and other cultural distinctions. Such contextualization will contribute to students' recognition of the diversity and historical depth of the continent's arts and cultures. We will visit objects in storage and spend time in the galleries for the exhibition, Embroidered Traditions from Morocco to Afghanistan, for in-person, close looking and to fuel discussions surrounding the role of museums, museum display, and interpretation. At least two class sessions will take place at the Art Institute of Chicago.