Power, Authority and Spirituality in Oceanic Art

3 units

Focusing on the material culture of Pacific, this seminar considers the similarities and differences in political and spiritual power and authority throughout Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia. The seminar examines how material forms embodied the immaterial divine and spiritual power associated with gods and ancestors and will consider how objects understood to contain these powers were used in local contexts and with neighboring communities and Westerners. Included in the discussions will be objects (both ritual and utilitarian), body modification and decoration/ornamentation, dress, architecture, religion/ritual, warfare and exchange. We will consider what the materials used in these categories tell us about local concepts of ancestral or divine power, about indigenous understandings of the local environment and its importance, and also how objects were understood as mediators of the relationships between humans and ancestors or divine beings. Prerequisites: Intro to Western Art (L01 113) or Intro to Modern Art (L01 215); one 300-level course in Art History preferred; or permission of instructor.