ARTH 023. Arts of the Ancient Americas

This course examines the art and architecture of the ancient Americas, focusing primarily on the regions of Mesoamerica and the Andes. It covers roughly four thousand years of human creativity, beginning with the origins of complex civilization in the region and continuing into the sixteenth century and the arrival of Europeans. To better understand the cultural and social significance of the objects we study, we will look to a variety of disciplinary approaches including art history, archeology, anthropology, ethnography. We will examine how artworks from the ancient Americas reflected, supported, and actively shaped the worldview of the people who created and used them. In addition, the class will briefly examine the significance of pre-Columbian art in contemporary society, including the topics of cultural nationalism, looting, and the politics of collecting pre-Columbian art.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for LALS
Catalog chapter: Art and Art History: Art History
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/art

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