ARHA294 - Building Houses, Building Identities: Architecture in the Atlantic World, From Africa to America

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Academic Year 2002/2003

Building Houses, Building Identities: Architecture in the Atlantic World, From Africa to America
ARHA 294 SP

Crosslistings:
AFAM 296

Clusters:

African Studies

From 1550 to 1850 twelve million Africans were forcibly transported from their homes to the Americas. They brought with them cultural knowledge and technological expertise. That knowledge transformed the landscape, from Brazil to New Orleans to Virginia. Historians are only now beginning to understand that the Atlantic basin can best be understood as a cultural unit. From Senegal to Brazil, African architecture created a new, hybrid style. This course studies the buildings of the Atlantic basin. From the great mosques of medieval West Africa to the plantation houses of Brazil and of New Orleans, African builders introduced concepts and forms that included the verandah, the enclosed porch or gallery, and probably, too, the shotgun house.

This course looks first at African art and architecture, then at the spread of African technology to the New World. We will have a field trip, to New York, and possibly a visit to a local mosque. There are no prerequisites for the course, which is cross-listed as both art History and African-American Studies.

MAJOR READINGS

Mark, "'Portuguese' Houses and Luso-African Identity in Precolonial Senegambia"
Prussin, L., HATUMERE: ISLAMIC DESIGN IN AFRICA Bourgeios, SPECTACULAR VERNACULAR

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Midterm exam, 10-page research paper, final exam.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

Interested students should email Professor Mark at pmark@wesleyan.edu

One field trip to New York on a weekend is required. Fee of $25 for required class trip.

Unless preregistered students attend the first class meeting or communicate directly with the instructor prior to the first class, they will be dropped from the class list. NOTE: Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add form to the Registrar's Office.

The instructor of this course will not be using the on-line wait list. If you are interested in this course, please contact the instructor directly.

COURSE FORMAT: Lecture

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA ART Grading Mode: Graded

Prerequisites: NONE

SECTION 01

Instructor(s): Mark,Peter A.

Times: ..T.... 07:30PM-10:30PM; Location: DAC100

Reserved Seats: (Total Limit: 30)

SR. major: 5 Jr. major: 5

SR. non-major: 7 Jr. non-major: 7 SO: 6 FR: X

Special Attributes:

Curricular Renewal: Reading Non-Verbal Texts

Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-18-2003