Gender, Power, Spirituality in African Aesthetics

Catalog description

Does the gender binary (policed as if it were a biological bedrock) hold globally? This course explores how dynamic African imageries disrupt binary distinctions between feminine and masculine. In the arts and visual cultures of Africa and its diasporas, the feminine is often core to the expression and performance of political and spiritual power. Beginning in the sixteenth century, we will examine a wide range of case studies (including the Oyo, Benin, and Luba empires) and how they inform contemporary art practices across the Atlantic. Satisfies Africana Studies major and minor requirement. Satisfies Gender and Sexuality Studies major and minor requirement. Satisfies Cultural Diversity requirement.