The majestic and powerful Black African empires of Ancient Nubia, located on the Nile to the south of Egypt in present-day Sudan, have either been ignored by mainstream scholarship or subsumed under Egyptian culture. Yet, Ancient Nubia produced more pyramids than Egypt, colossal sculpture, magnificent gold jewelry and monumental architecture that, to date, remains unparalleled. This course will begin with the Nubian Neolithic Period (ca. 6,000 BCE) with its sensational abstract ceramics and human sculpture and end with art of the great cosmopolitan city of Meroe in ca. 350 CE. It will touch on aspects of colonialism, feminism and museology. Conditions permitting, one session will meet at the Museum of Fine Arts, home to the finest collection of Nubian Art outside Sudan.

Units: 1

Max Enrollment: 25

Prerequisites: None. ARTH 100 or ANTH 103/CLCV 103 recommended.

Instructor:  Freed

Distribution Requirements: ARS - Visual Arts, Music, Theater, Film and Video

Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered

Notes: