ARTH 419
Going to Ground: Considering Earth in the Arts of Africa Fall 2014
Division I Writing Skills Exploring Diversity Initiative
Cross-listed AFR 419
This is not the current course catalog

Class Details

This seminar explores how earth has been conceptualized and integrated into African artistic thought as geography, environment, material, and metaphor, and how this interpretive flexibility has allowed it to become a symbol of power and presence in African art-making from prehistory to the present. The seminar will also focus on the ways in which earth has been used in contemporary art towards addressing the growing problems of pollution, unsustainable development, and the widespread depletion of earth-based natural resources in Africa. Over the course of this seminar, students will develop a knowledge base of earth-related issues that have been addressed in African artistic production, and engage with various cross-disciplinary methodologies to critically analyze the conceptual and aesthetic strategies deployed in these works. Students will also have the opportunity to interact with specialists from multiple fields towards fleshing out their knowledge base, including Dr. Karen Milbourne, curator of the National Museum of African Art in Washington DC, and Dr. Alex Apotsos, former climate change advisor for the Africa Bureau at USAID. This course fulfills EDI requirements through its exploration of the effects of globalization and modernization on the African natural environment, and its engagement with diverse cultural legacies, socio-political systems, and economic realities on the continent as contributors to art-making strategies deployed by contemporary African environmental artists.
The Class: Format: seminar
Limit: 19
Expected: 19
Class#: 1078
Grading: OPG
Requirements/Evaluation: directing at least one class discussion and a term paper (18-20 pages) with presentation
Extra Info: may not be taken on a pass/fail basis
Prerequisites: this seminar is designed for advanced-level undergraduate students in Art History and Africana Studies, although permission to enroll may be awarded under special circumstances
Enrollment Preferences: advanced undergraduate students who have declared a major in Art History or Africana Studies
Distributions: Division I Writing Skills Exploring Diversity Initiative
Notes: meets Division 1 requirement if registration is under ARTH; meets Division 2 requirement if registration is under AFR
This course is cross-listed and the prefixes carry the following divisional credit:
AFR 419 Division II ARTH 419 Division I
Attributes: ARTH Middle East, Asia and Africa Courses

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