ARTH 3401 - Art of Ancient Mesoamerica

Credits: 3 (3 + 0)

Prerequisite(s): ARTH 1600 and ARTH 1700 with “C-” or better in each; or permission of department

Description: This course provides an overview of the arts and architecture produced by the different cultures of Mesoamerica, from the Olmec to the Aztec, as they existed before and up to the Spanish Conquest. The primary focus is on the visual elements of culture left to us, as well as any written records from both the Pre-Hispanic and Conquest periods. Through an exploration of these visual records, students examine the aesthetics and technologies of Mesoamerican cultures, as well as the cultural cosmologies and religious beliefs, political structures, and daily life which informed their production. Particular issues under discussion include cross-cultural contacts, the manipulation of power structures through imagery and architectural space, and the role of gender and social status in representation, politics, and religion.