ARTH402 - Art and Religion in Latin America

Prof. Monica Dominguez
Office Location: 309 Old College
Office Hours: Tuesday 4-5 pm
Email: monicadt@udel.edu

This seminar explores the impact of contrasting religious traditions --Amerindian, African and European-- in the artistic production of Latin America. A broad range of artworks created from 1492 to the present will be analyzed according to the particular religious system(s) in which they were created.

Textbooks

Ades, Dawn. Art in Latin America. The Modern Era, 1820-1980. New Haven/London: Yale University Press, 1989

Gruzinski, Serge. Images at war: Mexico from Columbus to Blade Runner (1492-2019). Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 2001

Readings

Since class discussion is a key element for a seminar, each week I will provide a list of readings to be discussed in the next session. Photocopies of those readings will be available at the Art History department (318 Old College).

Sept 8 Sept 15 Sept 22 Sept 29 Oct 6 Oct 13 Oct 27 Nov 3 Nov 10 Nov 17 Dec 1 Dec 8

There will be two main assignments throughout the term:

a research paper (45%)
a 20-minute presentation in class (35%)

The remaining 20% of the final grade would be assessed taking into account attendance and class participation.

Sep 1                                         ● Introduction to the course
Sep 8                                         ● Art and religion in the Inca empire 
Sep 15                                       ● Maya art and cosmology              
Sep 22                                       ● From Teotihuacan to the Aztec empire
Sep 29                                       ● Images at war: the religious conquest       
Oct 6                                         ● Miracles and visions                                                        
Oct 13                                       ● Baroque seduction                                                        
Oct 20                                       ● Visit to the PMA
Oct 27                                       ● Magnificent ceremonies (Presentations 1, 2, 3, 4)
Nov 3                                        ● The cult of Death (Presentations 5, 6, 7, 8)
Nov 10                                       ● The African contribution (Presentations 9, 10, 11)
Nov 17                                       ● Religious icons of the Modern age (Presentations 12, 13, 14, 15)
Dec 1                                         ● Female roles in image-making (Presentations 16, 17, 18, 19)
Dec 8                                         ● Postmodernism and Ultrabaroque (Presentations 20, 21, 22)

Bibliographic resources

Electronic resources

Audiovisual materials

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