ARHT205

This course is an introductory survey of art and architecture from the African continent during prehistoric, ancient, medieval, and modern periods. Emphasis will be made on the continuities and dissimilarities between earlier rock painting and monumental architecture, and more recent art and performance. The form of the class is mostly slide lectures, with regular intervals of discussion.
Students will learn to understand relationships between visual an, ritual life, music, and
dance in Africa’s historic cultures from ancient to modern. The differences of scale and
type will be examined, between large states and urban metropolises and the cultures of
smaller-scale societies. Students will be introduced to formal elements as well as
historical and social contextual aspects of art objects from Africa
The objectives of this course include introducing the methods of inquiry in the
humanities and the learning of historical contexts through which students may interpret
and critically analyze recent world events in relation to Africa and its diasporas. Our
focus is on how an has been at the center of global economic, cultural, social, and
political activities up to the present. Throughout this course we examine the
interconnectedness of nations and peoples in history and the persistence of traditions
from the deep past into the 2 1 st century.