Memorials, African Art, and the Burden of Remembering
ARHA 267
Fall 2024
| Section:
01
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| Course Cluster and Certificates: African Studies, African Studies Minor |
Throughout history, Africans have preserved the memory of their loved ones through words chanted in songs such as Yoruba Oriki; images rendered in wood, concrete, and metal; and other means. This course explores the multitude of ways in which Africans have memorialized their dead from the 9th century BCE to the present. In Western commemorative paradigms individuals have written poems, books, or essays, produced paintings and sculptures, taken photographs, and recorded videos. In Africa, comparable modes of preserving the memory of the dead have included sculpted ancestral figures, memorial effigies, and potent power objects. For instance, the memory of the 98th king of the Kuba people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (who was believed to have reigned during the solar eclipse of 1680) was preserved in the sculpture of Shamba Bolongongo, while a mask named mwaash a mbooy memorialized the son of Woot, the iconic ancestor who married his sister, Ngaady a mwaash and founded the ruling Kuba dynasty. In Luba society, visual memory devices such as lukasa have been deployed to trigger memories of past heroes and their exploits during a ritual ceremony known as Mbudye. In Yoruba society, Ibeji figures have preserved the memory of the late twins, while Dogon sculptures have been used to embody the soul of the deceased. Through weekly readings and lectures, this course will examine these commemorative objects by focusing on their formal qualities and thematic usage in African art over the centuries. The course is divided into two segments. The first segment deals with pre-colonial modes of preserving the memory of the dead, such as sculpted ancestral figures, memorial effigies, masks and masquerades, and potent power objects. The second segment deals with contemporary forms of memorialization through museums, monuments, commemorative art, among others, in Africa from the 19th century to the present. Through weekly readings and lectures, the course will examine these commemorative objects by focusing on their formal and thematic qualities, as well as the larger political questions surrounding their production, usage, and survival in Africa over the centuries. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA ART |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (AFST-MN)(ARHA-MN)(ARHA)(ARST) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 90% or above |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Wesleyan RJ JUlia Bookstore
1. LaGamma, Alisa. 2011. Heroic Africans: Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
2. Plankensteiner, Barbara (ed). 2008. Benin, Kings and Rituals. Court Arts from Nigeria. The Arts Institute of Chicago.
3. Selection of articles and book chapters on e-reserves and Moodle
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Examinations and Assignments:
1. Two short papers, midterm exam, final exam |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
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| Instructor(s): Nwafor,Okechukwu Times: ..T.R.. 01:20PM-02:40PM; Location: BOGH113; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 19 | | SR major: 4 | JR major: 4 | | |
| Seats Available: 6 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 2 | JR non-major: 2 | SO: 4 | FR: 3 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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