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74880-01 - Seminar: Artefacts of Contact in Early Modern Americas (3 CP)
| Semester | spring semester 2025 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Carlos Rojas Cocoma (carlos.rojascocoma@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | Despite the processes of colonization and domination, in the first centuries of European contact with the American continent, local strategies were developed that allowed the coexistence of elements adapted to a new culture. In this historical encounter, a range of cultural artefacts played a role in the formation of a hybrid society: religious paintings provided models for family habits, portraits depicted notions of racial purity, objects showcased the Baroque style within an amalgam of American elements, and architecture negotiated indigenous cosmogony with the Catholicism of the Counter-Reformation. Analyzed not as reflections or ‘consequences’, these artefacts had an active place in shaping the social and cultural order of the Americas. The analysis and interpretation of artefacts will address three fundamental aspects through the course of the seminar. The initial focus is on contact, exploring how the encounter with the visual culture of the American continent fostered the development of a visual culture that maintained the presence of diverse cosmogonies and gazes. The second part will concentrate on the body and the image, examining the processes by which religion and politics shaped a material culture and, in turn, influenced contact with the indigenous past and present. Finally, it will analyze the visual systems through which the American world was sought to be understood, as was largely done in the 18th century through the expeditions and histories written by missionaries and travelers. The seminar is designed for students interested in the study and deepening of Art and material culture of the Americas. The seminar will be conducted in English, although written assignments, presentations and class participation can also be made in German. For successful course completion, constant reading and preparation of the texts provided is expected. |
| Learning objectives | At the end of the seminar, students will be able to: - Identify the parameters and characteristics of pre-Columbian art, and early modern art of the Americas in a general overview. - Recognize some ethnographic and archaeologic objects of the Americas in Swiss collections - Identify main problems around history of the Americas, and the recent approach to problems concerning art and material culture. - Develop a critical reflection on the interpretation of the work of art and the idea of artifact. - Identify some parameters and characteristics of Indigenous art of the Americas. - Familiarize with interdisciplinary concepts from global history and to use them as tools for historiographical research. |
| Bibliography | - Asúa, Miguel de. Science in the vanished Arcadia : knowledge of nature in the Jesuit missions of Paraguay and Rio de la Plata. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2014. - Bailey, Gauvin Alexander. The art of colonial Latin America. London: Phaidon, 2005. - Bailey, Gauvin Alexander. The Andean hybrid baroque : convergent cultures in the churches of colonial Peru. Notre Dame (Ind.): University of Notre Dame Press, 2010. - Bailey, Gauvin Alexander. The spiritual rococo: decor and divinity from the salons of Paris to the missions of Patagonia. Farnham: Ashgate, 2014. - Bleichmar, Daniela, and Peter C. Mancall, eds. Collecting Across Cultures: Material Exchanges in the Early Modern Atlantic World. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011. - Cummins, Thomas B. F. and Anderson, Barbara eds. The Getty Murúa: Essays on the Making of Martín de Murúa's "Historia General del Piru," Getty publications. Los Angeles, 2008. - Cummins,Thomas B. F. and Anderson, Barbara eds. Manuscript Cultures of Colonial Mexico and Peru: New Questions and Approaches. Getty Publications, Los Angeles, 2015. - de Boer, Wietse, Enenkel, Karl A.E., and Melion, Walter eds. Jesuit Image Theory. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2015. - Dean, Carolyn J. Inka bodies and the body of Christ : Corpus Christi in colonial Cusco, Peru. London: Duke University Press. 1999. - Liebmann, Matthew and Murphy, Melissa S. eds. Enduring conquests : rethinking the archaeology of resistance to Spanish colonialism in the Americas. Santa Fe, NM: SAR Press, 2011. - Mills, Kenneth, William B Taylor, and Sandra Lauderdale Graham. Colonial Latin America : A Documentary History. Wilmington, Del: Scholarly Resources, 2002. |
| Comments | For each session there is a basic bibliography that the student must read. The focus of the seminar and its success depend on the rigorous reading and personal analysis of these texts. For the last session, in groups of 2 to 3 students, students will choose an object from a list of objects selected. Students will prepare a descriptive research presentation. They will present a 20-minute presentation to their colleagues, with five minutes left for discussion. At the end of the seminar, students must write and send a final essay connected with the oral presentation. The grades will be 40% participation on the seminar, and 60% oral presentation and essay. |
| Admission requirements | Für den Besuch der Seminare sollte das Grundstudium abgeschlossen sein. |
| Course application | Belegen über Online Services (services.unibas.ch) notwendig. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | Online, optional |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Friday | 12.15-14.00 | Kunstgeschichte, Seminarraum 1. Stock 131 |
Dates
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Friday 21.02.2025 | 12.00-14.00 | Kunstgeschichte, Vorbesprechung |
| Friday 28.03.2025 | 14.00-17.00 | Kunstgeschichte, Seminarraum 1. Stock 131 |
| Saturday 29.03.2025 | 10.00-17.00 | Kunstgeschichte, Seminarraum 1. Stock 131 |
| Friday 16.05.2025 | 14.00-17.00 | Kunstgeschichte, Seminarraum 1. Stock 131 |
| Saturday 17.05.2025 | 10.00-17.00 | Kunstgeschichte, Seminarraum 1. Stock 131 |
| Modules |
Modul: Frühe Neuzeit (Bachelor's degree subject: Art History) Modul: Profil: Frühe Neuzeit (Master's degree program: Art History and Image Theory) Modul: Werk und Kontext (Master's degree program: Art History and Image Theory) Modul: Werk und Kontext (Master's degree subject: Art History) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | For each session there is a basic bibliography that the student must read. The focus of the seminar and its success depend on the rigorous reading and personal analysis of these texts. For the last session, in groups of 2 to 3 students, students will choose an object from a list of objects selected. Students will prepare a descriptive research presentation. They will present a 20-minute presentation to their colleagues, with five minutes left for discussion. At the end of the seminar, students must write and send a final essay connected with the oral presentation. The grades will be 40% participation on the seminar, and 60% oral presentation and essay. |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Kunstgeschichte |