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CS92PROD
Portuguese Expansion to Africa and the Atlantic World, 1440-1640


AFAM 210
Spring 2011
Section: 01  
Crosslisting: HIST 299, ARHA 268
Certificates: Jewish and Israel Studies
Course Cluster: African Studies

This course on European overseas expansion in the early modern era, the 15th to the 17th centuries, studies the Portuguese sea-borne empire, with a focus on Africa. The course examines the origins of culture contact between Europe and Africa and the creation of mixed cultures, two defining characteristics of the modern world. We will approach the subject matter in an interdisciplinary manner, drawing on the methodologies of history and art history.

We will study primarily secondary historical sources as well as travel narratives from the 15th to the 17th century. Paintings and sculpture also offer insight into European attitudes toward people of different cultures and physical appearance. We will consider both sculpture made by West African artists and paintings by European artists. Together, written documents and artistic depictions of Africans and of Europeans afford us an understanding of an era that was critical to the formation of intercultural contact and the establishment of European images of Africans.

Essential Capabilities: Intercultural Literacy
This course studies the origins of intercultural contact in the Modern World.
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS AFAM
Course Format: LectureGrading Mode: Graded
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Major Requirement for: None
Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available

Last Updated on MAR-28-2024
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