Academic Credits:  3 credits

Course fulfills Chronological periods: Prehistory to 1400, 1400 to 1700.  Geographic region: Latin America and Caribbean

Mode of Instruction:  Lecture

Course Prerequisites and Corequisites:  None

Core Curriculum:  None

Course Description:

This course will provide an overview of the concepts necessary to understanding the arts of nonwestern cultures. Differing perceptions of time, space, the natural landscape, architecture, the nature of art and its ritual functions will be discussed. Materials will be drawn from PreColumbian, African, and Oceanic artistic traditions. This is a difficult course conceptually and many of my previous students have found it harder than some of the 300 level courses.

Required and Recommended Course Materials:

  • READINGS: The required and optional readings have been placed on reserve in the Art Library. You will not be able to make sense of the lectures without doing this reading. NOTE: THE MATERIAL IN THIS COURSE IS CONCEPTUALLY DIFFICULT AND WILL BE UNFAMILIAR TO MOST OF YOU. PLEASE ASK QUESTIONS WHEN YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND SOMETHING, SINCE THE READINGS MAY BE CONFUSING.
  • Required and Optional Texts (All textbooks are available at the R.U. Bookstore and on reserve in the Art History Library) Required Ben Okri. The Famished Road London: Jonathan Cape, 1991. Benjamin Kwakye. The Sun by Night Trenton NJ: Africa World Press, 2006. Camara Laye. The Dark Child New York: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux

Exams:

There will be one mid-term exam and a cumulative final. The MID-TERM will consist of about 20 slide identifications with several sections each and a short essay. You will be graded about 40/60 on the objective section and the essay. Mastering the objective section of the exam will demand memorization. The FINAL will use the same format. Most of the images used in the class can be found on the web (INSTRUCTIONS WILL BE GIVEN IN CLASS). The essay will cover portions of the required reserve reading, so please do not neglect this portion of the course.

Instructor:

TBD

Disclaimer:  These course descriptions/synopses pages have been provided as samples and the information should not be considered accurate or current.  For actual course information, refer to the course site hosted by a Rutgers Learning Management System (Sakai, Canvas, etc.) as of first day of class.