ARH 2025 Survey of African Art
This course will survey the history of art in Africa from ancient times to the present. The student will be introduced to the stylistic diversity of African art through lectures which will be based on the required reading (Visona, et al. A History of Art in Africa). Lectures will stress the aesthetic qualities, religious, social, and ethnographic functions and meanings of African art forms. Each week the student will be introduced to a geographic region of Africa and the art producing ethnic groups of each region will be studied. Particular attention will be given to figural and masking traditions; other topics will include textile design, architecture, and royal arts. Topics include, Ancient Egyptian art, the Islamic art of North and East Africa, the traditional arts of West, Central and Southern Africa and contemporary African art.