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Clothing and Textiles in Africa (Spring 2012) Professor Victoria Rovine ARH 5*** Mondays Period 3 (9:35-10:25 am) Wednesdays Periods 2-3 (8:30-10:25 am) [Location] [Office hours] To contact me: vrovine@africa.ufl.edu or 392-0201 x226 Course description This class is focused on the techniques, styles, and uses of textiles and other elements of dress in Africa. We will explore how dress reveals information about culture and history, with particular attention to the movements of textiles and technologies between regions, and the preservation of styles of dress that are associated with tradition. We will also investigate the role of dress in political systems, religious worship, and other aspects of social organization. As much as possible, we will focus on specific artists and specific objects. Our readings will be varied, from technical analyses to artists biographies. We will make two visits to the Harn Museum of Art, to view textiles and African art in other media. Each student will also make a class presentation based on research topics to be determined early in the semester. Course goals This course uses clothing and textiles as windows onto African artistic production, through in-depth investigation of production and use contexts. The course will provide students with theoretical frameworks for analyzing works of art made for bodies; technical background for analyzing weaving, dyeing, and other forms of production; and historical as well as cultural information that will facilitate analysis of the larger political, religious, economic, and historical significance of these works of art. Course Requirements and Grades Class Participation and Attendance: Students are expected to attend all classes and to complete the reading and assignments for each class meeting. Missing more than two classes will adversely affect your grade. You are responsible for all of the material covered in lectures. While attendance is important, participation is crucial! We will all enjoy the class more, and learn more effectively, if everyone participates. Attendance and participation constitute 10% of your grade. Please note: Occasionally, I will recommend lectures or films outside of class time. I understand that some of you may have conflicts, but do try to attend. Readings: You are expected to do the assigned readings for each class meeting. Our discussions will center on the readings and they will be the basis of some questions on your exams. We will be using two books: Sense, Style, and Presence: African Arts of Personal Adornment (Harn Museum 2004), and The Essential Art of African Textiles: Design Without End (Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2008). The first book is available at the Harn Museum of Art s store, the second is available at Goerings Book Store (1717 NE 1 st Ave) and copies are also on reserve at the Art/Architecture Library. All other class readings are on the course s e-reserve web site: http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/ (click on Course Reserves ). Exams: Two exams will each count for 20% of your final grade. Each exam will consist of vocabulary definitions, a map, short answers, slide identification, and an essay. Exam dates are noted on the syllabus. I may also administer unannounced quizzes on the readings, which will be incorporated into your grade. Other assignments: Two papers are worth 20% and 30% of your grade. Please note that you may turn in either assignment early (at least one week before the due date) if you would like me to read it in draft form. The second paper grade will be based on both the paper and a short (10 minute) class presentation. Late Papers/Make-Up Exams: You have all of the deadlines and exam dates now, so plan accordingly. Only in extraordinary circumstances will extensions/make-up exams be given. Grades: A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- D+ D D- E grade scale: 93-100 90-92 87-89 83-86 80-82 77-79 73-76 70-72 67-69 63-66 60-62 59-below grade points: 4.0 3.67 3.33 3.0 2.67 2.33 2.0 1.67 1.33 1.0 0.67 0 1
Academic Honesty The University of Florida s honor code requires all students to be honest in their academic work. University policies on cheating, plagiarism, and related issues are available at: http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/msl/services/tutorials/plagiarism/honorcode_stud.html Any paper that is plagiarized partially or entirely will receive an automatic E and may result in a failing grade in the class. Accommodations Students requesting classroom accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students Office. The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to me when requesting accommodation. Communicating with You I will use a class listserv to communicate with you outside class. You are responsible for checking your email and for ensuring that your mailbox does not go over quota. Also note: Don t be late for class! (You won t have the opportunity to sign in if you arrive late.) Turn off cell phones during class. ****************************************************************************** (readings marked with an asterix are from books available for purchase) January 6 Course Introduction January 8 What Clothing (and the lack of clothing) Can Mean Busia Maternal Legacies in Wrapped in Pride (UCLA Fowler Museum 2004) Khumalo et al Fashion In Politics in BBC Focus on Africa July-Sept 2004 (pp 12-18) Bastian The Naked and the Nude in Dirt, Undress, and Difference (Indiana University Press 2005) January 13 Introducing Techniques and Contexts *Cooksey Sense, Style, and Presence in Sense Style and Presence (Harn Museum 2004) *Rovine Cotton, Raffia, Beads, and Bark in Sense Style and Presence January 15 Textiles in Context: Markets and Power video: Mama Benz and the Taste of Money (2002) January 20 Technologies 1 *Giuntini West African Cloth: Techniques and Tradition in The Essential Art of African Textiles (Metropolitan Museum, 2008) Polakoff The Art of Tie and Dye in Africa in Into Indigo (Anchor Books 1980) January 22 Technologies 2: Unusual Techniques Erekosima and Eicher Kalabari Cut-Thread and Pulled-Thread Cloth African Arts 14 #2 (1981) Arnoldi and Kreamer Twelve Hats from Crowning Achievements (Fowler Museum 1995) January 27 Cloth and History The Eye, the Hand, and the Stripe in History, Design, and Craft in West African Strip- Woven Cloth (Smithsonian Institution 1992) 2
January 29 Other Adornments in Historical Context: Beadwork Drewal A Historical Overview: African and Yorùbá Beading in Beads, Body, and Soul (Fowler Museum 1998) February 3 Beads and Social Structure ***Class meets at HARN MUSEUM*** Interview with Nana Mamle Okleyo in The Bead Is Constant (Ghana University Press 2003) *Paper #1 due in class February 5 Colonialism and Clothing Comaroff The Empire s Old Clothes in Cross-Cultural Consumption (Routledge 1996) February 10 Dress and Social Structure: African Kingdoms and Colonialism Kuper Costume and Identity Comparative Studies in Society and History 15 #3 (1973) February 12 Dress and Social Structure: Nomadic Societies Bovin The Importance of Beauty in Nomads who Cultivate Beauty (Nordiska Afrikaininstitutet 2001) Rasmussen Dress, Identity, and Gender in Tuareg Culture and Society in The Art of Being Tuareg (Cantor Arts Center/Fowler Museum 2006) February 17 Exam 1 Review February 19 Exam 1 February 24 Textile Artists: Weavers Kabu The End of Skill in Dreams, Miracles, and Jazz (Picador Africa, 2008) February 26 Textile Artists: Dyers and Tailors Rabine chapter 2 Fashion and the Meanings of Tradition in The Global Circulation of African Fashion (Berg 2002) Cannizzo Gara Cloth by Senesse Tarawallie African Arts 1 #4 (1983) March 3 Clothing and Power: Politics *In Sense, Style, Presence: Ross In Praise of Leaders Poynor Beadwork: The Embroidery of Kings Darish Kuba Dress and Adornment March 5 Clothing and Power: Politics 2 Nevedomsky and Aisien The Clothing of Political Identity African Arts 28 #1 (1995) Geary Political Dress: German-Style Military Attire and Colonial Politics in Bamum in African Crossroads (Berghahn Books 1996) --Spring Break-- March 17 Clothing and Power: Religion McNaughton The Shirts that Mande Hunters Wear African Arts 15 #3 (1982) March 19 Video focus: Monday s Girls Daly Iria Bo Appearance at Kalabari Funerals African Arts 21 #1 (1987) 3
March 24 Clothing and Power: Gender Becker Amazigh Textiles and Dress in Morocco African Arts 39 #3 (2006) March 26 Clothing and Power: Gender 2 Hansen Dressing Dangerously: Miniskirts, Gender Relations, and Sexuality in Zambia in Fashioning Africa (Indiana University 2004) Bastian Female Alhajis and Entrepreneurial Fashion: Flexible Identities in Southeastern Nigerian Clothing Practice in Clothing and Difference (Duke 1996) March 31 Factory Cloth, Trade, and History Steiner Another Image of Africa: Toward an Ethnohistory of European Cloth Marketed in West Africa, 1873-1960 Ethnohistory 32 #2 (1985) Picton Factory-Printed Textiles section from The Art of African Textiles: Technology, Tradition, Lurex pages 24-30 (Barbican Art Gallery, 1995) April 2 Textiles and Contemporary Art *La Gamma The Poetics of Cloth in The Essential Art of African Textiles (Metropolitan Museum, 2008) April 7 Fashion and Globalization Klopper Re-dressing the Past in Hybridity and Its Discontents (Routledge 2000) Eicher and Sumberg World Fashion, Ethnic, and National Dress in Dress and Ethnicity (Berg 1995) April 9 African Fashion: International Markets Rovine Working the Edge in Old Clothes, New Looks (Berg 2005) **class presentations** April 14 African Fashion: Local Markets Mustafa Sartorial Ecumenes: African Styles in Social and Economic Context in The Art of African Fashion (Prince Claus Fund, 1998) **class presentations** April 16 Exam 2 review April 21 EXAM 2 Paper #2 due: Tuesday, April 28 th by 3:00 pm (papers must be delivered to my office, FAC 119B) 4