The purpose of this 12-credit Certificate is to provide students with an opportunity to comprehend the breadth of African literature, visual arts, and performance, and how these creative cultural practices respond to and shape political, economic, and social concerns. Through courses that introduce them to an inclusive array of African artistic and expressive practices, students will gain fluency in the cultural and creative diversity of African and Afro-diasporic peoples. Students will receive training in critical theory that prepares them to understand and interpret forms of expressive culture in African contexts and through African knowledge systems. They will learn to analyze the complex interrelations of local and global audiences, networks, and traditions in both formal artistic practice and vernacular art forms in their material, immaterial, and embodied expressions. Students may choose to focus on an area of study (e.g. performance) or to pursue an interdisciplinary selection of courses.
Learning objectives include:
- Students will be able to identify, describe, and analyze prevalent forms of African expressive culture and artistic practice and the key issues they address;
- Students will be able to think critically and discuss how local and global networks shape the production, dissemination, and reception of myriad forms of expressive cultures;
- Students will understand the ways in which African creative and artistic expression contributes to politics, social life, and knowledge production;
- Students will gain hands-on experience in field research or artistic practice through study abroad opportunities;
- Students will gain skills related to a career in the arts or in foundations, museums, educational institutions or other non-profits that support, research in, or teach cultural diversity and the arts.