Art History 301 - Topic: African Art

'African and African Diasporic artists recently have achieved unprecedented acclaim in the most august institutions and trendiest art fairs in contemporary art. This course examines the complex and global histories of both 'overnight sensations' and artists still unknown in global art circuits. The course begins with an examination of arts education in Africa during the first half of the twentieth century. We next study how African nationalism, the Black Arts Movement, Pan-Africanism, and anti-Apartheid struggles emerged and interacted through artistic expression. The course concludes with the postcolonial theoretical and curatorial interventions of the 1990s and 2000s that brought contemporary art of Africa and the African Diaspora to the attention of a broader popular and art world audience. Writing assignments will relate to a temporary exhibition of contemporary art from Africa at the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum.'

Prereq: 8 credits in Art History.