Proposed Course Outline
Editha Nancy Jacobs
© 2007
TOPICS IN CARIBBEAN CULTURAL STUDIES T.A. MARRYSHOW COMMUNITY COLLEGE
SCHOOL OF ARTS SCIENCE & PROFESSIONAL STUDIES
Proposal for Implementing a Major/ Associate Degree Programme in Cultural Studies
ObjectivesI. Programme Co-ordinator: Dr. Editha G. Jacobs
II. Course Requirements for Major: Minimum of 5 3-credit courses (15 credits) over the two year period.
III. Prerequisites for courses: None
IV. Rationale for Programme:
In keeping with the T. A. Marryshow Community College and the Ministry of Education’s commitment to develop comprehensive programmes at the tertiary level, especially in areas that would promote knowledge of the Caribbean culture as a whole, it is important that courses relevant to such be offered. These courses in Caribbean culture, whether taken as a Major or as an Elective by students in other disciplines, offers them an introduction to understanding their heritage, and provides a foundation for understanding mainly the English-speaking Caribbean individually and collectively– their differences and similarities.
V.
Objectives of the Programme: To have students examine and discus the cultural diversity that makes up the territories of the mainly the English speaking Caribbean.
To explore the major events that have brought together the major world cultures that now make up the Caribbean region, and how these cultures have developed differently in individual territories.
To demonstrate that traditions are dynamic and capable of adapting themselves to contemporary circumstances.
To help students develop an understanding of the nature of cultural diffusion and adaptation.
Course Contents for Associate Degree Programme
Courses: Credits Hours
CLS 101 Introduction to Cultural Studies 3 45
CLS 102 Caribbean Festivals 3 45
CLS 103 Customs and Cultures of Africa 3 45
CLS 104 Religions and Caribbean Society 3 45
CLS 201 Material culture of Africa 3 45
CLS 202 Survey of African Art 3 45
CLS 203 Caribbean Arts - Visual Arts & Music 3 45
CLS 204 Caribbean Arts - Dance & Theatre 3 45
CLS 205 Caribbean Literary Heritage 3 45
CLS 206 Interpreting Caribbean Culture 3 45
CLS 300 *Internship 6 45
General Education Requirements 19
Electives 5
Must include - History of Grenada
OR - The Role of Women in Caribbean History
- Creative Writing
Total Credits 60
Internship:
Internship will take the form of an attachment to a Cultural Association or Institution, for the duration of 3 weeks x 40 hours during the final summer session. This should culminate with a project/ report on ONE (1) of these aspects:
(a) Ethnomusicology (b) Theatre Arts (c) Religious Practices
(d) Youth Groups e) Major or Sub-cultural groups, and
(f) Intellectual property Institutions.
Suggested institutions are as follows:
21 Ministry of Tourism & Culture
22 Grenada Cultural Foundation
23 The Grenada National Museum & Trust
24 The Grenada Arts Council
25 Grenada Historical Society
26 The Willy Redhead Foundation
Or Attachment to a cultural group i.e.
27 Tivoli Drummers,
28 The Veni Vwai La Grenade Dance Troupe
29 Youth Quake,
30 Grenada Mas’ Band Association,
31 Steel Band Association
32 The Grenada Music Teachers’ Association.
PROPOSED DELIVERY:
It is proposed to deliver the Associate Degree in Cultural studies for a full time programme per semester (16 weeks) for four (4) semesters and one summer session - for the internship at a Cultural Institution, or with a Cultural group. Students should complete five (5) General Education Requirements, which should include: Communications 101 and 103; Community Service or Sport; Social Science and Methods of Research and five (5) Electives that are recommended for the programme.
Credit Hours:
Although this course will involve considerable unsupervised time outside the classroom, it is acknowledged based on College policy, that the ratio of 15 hours given for theory and 30 hours of practical credits will be followed.
RESOURCE PERSONS:
Winston Fleary, Beverley Steele, Gloria Payne-Banfield, Curtis Jacobs, Esther O’Neale, Thelma ‘Aunt Tek’ Phillip, R.D. Steele, Mrs. Jean Pitt, Chris De Riggs, Urias Peters, and Bosco, Ricardo Keens-Douglas
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS:
Five (5) CXC General Certificates (or equivalent) including English Language are required for entry into the programme. It is preferable if students also have History or Social Studies at CXC
DESIGNATION OF PROGRAMME:
The Cultural Studies programme is designated as an Associate Degree in the School of Arts, Science and Profession Studies.
METHODS OF INSTRUCTION:
Methods of instruction will vary from course to course and are specified in each course outline. These methods will include:
Lectures
Class discussion
Guest speakers
Student participation
Case studies
Written and practical assignments
In-class exercises and simulations
Special projects or discovery learning
Supervised research
Field trips
METHODS OF ASSESSMENT:
A variety of assessment methods will be used as indicated for each course. These methods will include:
Continuous assessment
Final Examination
Case studies
In-class exercises
Projects
Plans and proposals
Assessment of internship
SYLLABI
The syllabi for the Cultural Studies Programme are attached. Some of these courses were developed with invaluable contributions from: Ms. Esther O’Neale of the T.A. Marryshow Community College Department of English and Communications, Dr. Curtis Jacobs of The University of the West Indies, Grenada Centre, Mr. Trevor Marshall, Department of History, Barbados Community College and Mr. Gene Lynch from the Department of Visual and Performing Arts of Barbados Community College.
REFERENCE TEXTS FOR LIBRARY:
Best, Curwen. Culture at the Cutting Edge
Brereton, Bridget. The Colonial Caribbean in Transition
Bettelheim, Judith & John Nunley, Caribbean Festival Arts Seattle and London: The Saint Louis Art Museum & University of Washington
Press, 1988.
Bettleheim, Judith. Cuban Festivals: A Century of Afro-Cuban Culture
Brandon, George. Santeria from Africa to the New World
Brathwaite, Kamau.
Brizan, George, Grenada: Island of Conflict
Corsby, Ken. Theatre Arts in the Caribbean
Consentino, Donald. The Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou
Davidson, Christine, Folklore of Carriacou
Drewal, Henry & John Mason. Body Beads and Soul
Fanon, Franz,
Harney, Stefano. Nationalism and Identity
Hill, Errol. The Trinidad Carnival
Hyatt, Vera & Nettleford, Rex. Race Discourse and the Origin of The Americas.
Lewis, Lynden, Folk Tales of Barbados
Look Lai, Walton. Chinese in the Caribbean
Regis, Louis. The Political Calypso
Rouse, I. The Tainos: Rise and Decline of the People who Greeted Columbus
New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992.
Poupeye, Verle, Caribbean Art
Ramnarine, Tina. Creating their Own Space
Roberts, Peter. A. From Oral to Literate Culture
Scoon, Paul, Survival For Service.
Steele, Beverley A. Grenada: A History of it’s People
Schneiter, Geoffroy, Ethnic Style: History and Fashion.
Sunshine, Catherine, The Caribbean: Survival, Struggle and Sovereignty.
Thompson Allison, Alissandra Cummings & Nick Whittle. Art in Barbados:
Thompson, Robert Farris Flash of the Spirit..
Watson, Karl & Howard Johnson. The White Minority in the Caribbean
Warner-Lewis, Maureen, Central Africa in the Caribbean.
Trinidad Yoruba
Guinea’s Other Sons
VIDEOS:
1. Goree: Door of no return
2. Celebration of Life (Guyana)
3. The King Does Not Lie: The Initiation of a Shango Priest.
4. Divine Horsemen (Vodou) Maya Deren
5. Documentary: Vodou.
6. Caribbean Eye Series: (13 programmes)
7. The Rumblings of the Earth: The Works of Wifredo Lam
8 The Early Haitian Painters
9. Voices of the Orichas - (Cuba)
10. A great Tree has fallen
11. Haiti: History in Paintings
12. Oggun
13. Bahia - Africa in the Americas
14. Mondays’ Girls
15. Crossing Over - Banyan Production
T. A. MARRYSHOW COLLEGE
SCHOOL: Arts Science & Prof. Studies DEPARTMENT: Arts & Cultural Studies
Course Code/ Number: CLS 101
COURSE TITLE: Introduction to Cultural Studies
SEMESTER CREDIT HOURS: 3 credits / 3 hours per week
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course introduces the student to the cultural aspects of Caribbean heritage. These Islands were influenced by the culture of the European colonisers primarily, and also a mixture of cultures from Africa, India and China and to a lesser extent the Indigenous peoples. These peoples from diverse cultural backgrounds arrived at different times, bringing with them their religious beliefs and customs. This course looks at the cultural origins as well as the adaptations and transformations that have taken place to create this fusion we call Caribbean culture.
GENERAL OBJECTIVES:
This course was designed mainly to provide students with a general background of Caribbean culture and customs as well as introduce them to the cultural retentions and customs still present.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:
1. To acquaint students with the original cultures of our Caribbean heritage and the transformations that occurred.
2. For students to analyse, compare and contrast cultural differences among the Caribbean Territories.
3. Through research projects the students will start to archive information specifically on Grenada, but to be cognisant of the developments in other Anglophone and Francophone territories.
4. Students may use any visual media (photography, Video, Costuming) to demonstrate the fusion/ transformation of Caribbean cultures related to festivals, worship, music or performance.
CONTENT:
1. Discovery of the New World Indigenous peoples in the Eastern Caribbean
(Arawaks, Tainos, Caribs,) petroglyphs and zemis.
2. European Settlements in the Caribbean –
3. Introduction of slave labour to the colonies
A Indentured labour and Immigration after Emancipation
4. Racial and ethnic backgrounds of the major peoples of the Caribbean:
A The Africans
B The Indians
C The Chinese
5. The geographical location of the Mother cultures
A Their art, religions, language, dance, festivals
6. Research project on some aspect of culture in Grenada.
METHODS OF INSTRUCTION:
The course consists of a series of lectures in co-operation with video documentaries, films, photographs, slides, guest speakers and field trips. Class discussions are encouraged during the class. Students will be given readings from articles and reference books and will be expected to carry out research on areas of study.
ASSESSMENT:
Students will be assessed on their participation in class discussion, presentations, group projects and the major research paper. There will be tests on course work, which will provide 40 % of grade as well as the research project, which will be worth 60% of the total grade.
REQUIRED TEXTS / SUPPLEMENTARY TEXTS & OTHER MATERIALS:
There will be no required text at this time, but Reference Books listed below should be available in the library. Some articles that are not available will be provided in class.
REFERENCE BOOKS:
Bettleheim, Judith & John Nunley, Caribbean Festival Arts. Seattle and London: The Saint Louis Art Museum & University of Washington
Press, 1988.
Brizan, George. Grenada: Island of Conflict.
Hyatt, Vera & Nettleford, Rex. Race Discourse and the Origin of The
Americas. Washington D.C:Smithsonian Institution Press, 1994.
Look Lai, Walton. Chinese in the Caribbean.
Nettleford, Rex, Caribbean Cultural Identity - the Case of Jamaica
Rouse, I. The Tainos: Rise and Decline of the People who Greeted Columbus
New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992.
Scoon, Sir Paul, Survival for Service.
Steele, Beverley A. Grenada: A History of it’s People. London: Macmillan-
Caribbean Publishers, 2003.
Warner-Lewis, Maureen, Trinidad Yoruba Kingston: The Press University of the West Indies, 1997.
Guineas other Suns Mass: The Majority Press, 1991.
Central Africa in the Caribbean, Kingston: Ian Randle Publishers, 2003
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS:
Videos:
Caribbean Eye Series - Banyan Ltd, Trinidad (Programme 6) Festivals
Crossing Over –
Documentary on Vodou
The King Does Not Lie
Slides: African Sculpture & Masks, Indian Art and Chinese Art.
T. A. MARRYSHOW COMMUNITY COLLEGE
SCHOOL: Arts, Science & Prof. Studies DEPARTMENT: Arts & Culture
Course Code / Number: CLS102
COURSE TITLE: Caribbean Festival Arts
SEMESTER CREDIT HOURS: 3 credits / 3 hours per week
TIME: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is an introduction to the cultural festivals of the Caribbean, which can be divided into the sacred and the secular celebrations - highlighting performance characters or groups. In order to understand the culture of Caribbean societies, the colonial history plays an important role and therefore, each country must be viewed individually. It is the historical factors that have molded and conditioned the society into what it has become today. Colonial suppression of cultural practices in the Caribbean, led to the adaptation or total extinction of some festivals/celebrations.
GENERAL OBJECTIVES:
This course was designed mainly to provide students to a general background to the origins of Caribbean festivals as well as illustrate how they adapted and transformed to survive changing societies.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:
1. To acquaint students with the original festivals celebrated by immigrants in the Caribbean, and the transformations to these festivals that became necessary for their survival.
2. To identify the religious and secular festivals practised by different groups, and the historical events that played a significant in its survival today.
3. Trace the origins of performance characters in different festivals and demonstrate how these characters have transformed in terms of costume and actions.
CONTENT:
1. Festival Arts:
Jonkunnu in Jamaica Big Drum Dance in Carriacou
Mardi Gras in Trinidad Rara in Haiti
Tumba Francesca in Cuba Carnival
2. Performance Characters:
Ireme of the Abakuá Society Ole Mas characters
Shortknee masquerader in Grenada
Midnight Robber in Trinidad
Moco Jumbie Mother Sally - Barbados
Horse Head - Jamaica Major Donc – Haiti
3. Religious Festivals:
Santeria in Cuba
Hosay in Trinidad, Jamaica and Guyana
Phagwa and Divali (Hindu)
Commemorating the Ancestors (Orisha)
4. Banned celebrations and practices.
7 Ban of Hosay Festival 1884
8 Cannes Brûles
9 Masquerade in Carnivals
METHODS OF INSTRUCTION:
A series of lectures will be given along with a presentation of slides, videos and possible guest lecturers (practitioners) and resource persons. There will also be the occasion that students may need to attend outside lectures or performances, and visit sites of interest. Attendance is important, as there is no set text from which to work. Students will be provided with handouts and readings to help with conception of ideas to gain a better understanding of the topics under discussion.
SUPPLEMENTARY TEXTS & OTHER MATERIALS:
There will be no required text at this time, but reference books should be available in the Library. Required articles will also be lodged in the library.
REFERENCE BOOKS:
Bettelheim Judith & John Nunley, Caribbean Festival Arts. Seattle and London: The Saint Louis Art Museum & University of Washington
Press, 1988.
Bettleheim, Judith. Cuban Festivals: A Century of Afro-Cuban Culture.
Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle Publishers, 2001.
Cowley, John. Carnival, Canboulay and Calypso: Traditions in the Making.
London: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
Hill, Errol. The Trinidad Carnival. London: New Beacon Books, 1997.
Olmos, Margarite Fernandez & Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert, Creole Religions
Of the Caribbean. New York: New York University Press, 2003.
Poupeye, Veerle. Caribbean Art. New York: Thames & Hudson, 1998.
Thompson, Robert F. Flash of the Spirit. New York: Random House, 19
Articles:
Caribbean Quarterly 1956
Pearse, Andrew. “Carnival in Nineteenth Century Trinidad”
Crowley, Daniel. “The traditional Masks of Carnival”
Procope, Bruce. “The Dragon Band or Devil Band.”
Caribbean Quarterly Dec. 1990
Wuest, Ruth. “The Robber in Trinidad Carnival”.
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS:
Videos
Caribbean Festivals - Caribbean Eye Series, - Banyan Productions TT.
Crossing Over -
Voices of the Orishas
T. A. MARRYSHOW COMMUNITY COLLEGE
SCHOOL: Arts, Science & Prof. Studies DEPARTMENT: Arts & Culture
Course Code / Number: CLS103
COURSE TITLE: Customs and Cultures of Africa
SEMESTER CREDIT HOURS: 3 credits / 3 hours per week
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
African societies are repositories of a “triple heritage,” being those of the African indigenous, the Islamic and the Euro-Christian cultures. While the lives of Africans are greatly influenced by indigenous cultural values, it is, however, the conflict, co-existence and intermingling with the Islamic and Euro-Christian cultures that help to shape and explain contemporary events in Africa. This course is a study, therefore, of African indigenous culture and how it has adopted and adapted to external influences and how it, in turn, has influenced these external cultures.
Course Requirements and Objectives
This course will satisfy requirements in the School of Arts Science and Professional Studies. It addresses the following areas: analytical and conceptual thinking, writing skills, gender, race and ethnicity, values and ethics, international perspectives and environmental awareness.
This course is designed to help the student:
1. Understand the cultural unity in and the cultural diversity of African societies.
2. Understand Africa’s cultural relationships to other parts of the world.
3. Discuss Africa’s past as a means of understanding its present and hopefully, its future.
4. Develop an understanding of changes taking place in Africa.
5. Appreciate the nature of cultural diffusion or how cultures borrow from each other.
B. Required Texts
John S. Mbiti, Introduction to African Religion.
*Ali Mazrui, The Africans: A Reader.
Recommended Reading
Chinua Achebe, No Longer at Ease.
Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart.
Herbert Cole & Chike Aniakor Igbo arts: Community and Cosmos.
Ivan Karp & Charles Bird, Exploration in African Systems of Thought.
Roy Sieber & Roslyn Walker, African Art in the Cycle of Life.
Pemberton, Drewal & Abiodun, 9 Centuries of Yoruba Art and Thought.
Ross, Doran, The Arts of Ghana.
COURSE OUTLINE
1. Topography and Demographic Survey of Africa
2. Religion and Cosmology in West Africa
3. African Art forms & Traditional Aesthetics
4. The Family Structure & The Cycle of Life
5. African Political Institutions: The Royal Court & Other Forms of Governance
6. Traditional Work Practices: Markets, Trade and Agriculture
7. New Gods: Islam, Christianity and Syncretism
Films:
The Ancient Africans
The Africans Part 1. - Different but Equal
The King Does Not Lie
Glories of Ancient Benin
Efe/Gelede Ceremonies among the Yoruba.
Vodou: A Documentary
The Kingdom of Bronze
Nigerian Art: Kindred Spirits
African Art
Monday’s Girls
Becoming a Woman in Okrika
The Africans: part 4.
The Ashanti Kingdom
A Great Tree has Fallen
The Africans (part 5)
The Africans: A Clash of Cultures (part 6)
Caribbean Eye: Festivals
T.A.MARRYSHOW COMMUNITY COLLEGE
SCHOOL: Arts, Science & Prof. Studies DEPARTMENT: Cultural Studies
Course Number: CLS 104
COURSE TITLE: Religion and Society in the Caribbean
SEMESTER CREDIT HOURS: 3 credits/ 3 hours per week
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course introduces the student to the religious heritage of the Caribbean through the various media of the visual and performing arts. The focus is primarily on the Caribbean archipelago, but has been expanded to include Guyana and Brazil. These countries were obviously influenced heavily by its European colonisers, but also by the mixture of cultures of the indigenous peoples, Africa, India and China. This course also looks at the major religions and religious festivals still practised in the Caribbean as well as those religions during colonialism that have undergone adaptations and transformations in order to survive.
GENERAL OBJECTIVES:
This course was developed to provide students with a knowledge of religious practices in the Caribbean from particularly Africa and India, and how the retention or extinction of these practises helped to shape the Caribbean.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:
1. To acquaint students with the original religions practised by immigrants to the Caribbean, and the transformations that became necessary for their survival.
2. To analyse religious practises by one group and to compare and contrast differences in worship in various territories in the Caribbean.
3. Students should be able to identify aspects of religious heritage and show how festivals/carnivals, and acts of worship have been used to keep traditions alive.
CONTENTS:
1. Religions of West and Central Africa still practised in the Caribbean:
Orisha, in Trinidad and Grenada; Santeria in Cuba,
Candomblè in Brazil, Vodou in Haiti, Pocomania in Jamaica.
Traditional retentions still practised - i.e. Kwe-Kwe in Guyana,
Nine-nights, Forty-nights, wakes, Saraka, in Grenada,
Carriacou & Petit Martinique.
2. Religions of India practised in the Caribbean
Shi’ite and Sunni Moslem practitioners
Hindu - Vedic
Jamaica, Guyana, and Trinidad
Religious Festivals still celebrated - Hosay - Battle of Karbala
(Hindu) - Divali, Phagwa etc.,
3. Survival/extinction of religions under colonial law:
i.e. - Ban of Shouters/ Spiritual Baptists in Trinidad 1917
- Ban the practise of Obeah / Orisha rituals 1881
METHODS OF INSTRUCTION:
A series of lectures will be given along with a presentation of slides, videos and possible guest lecturers (practitioners) and resource persons. Attendance is important, as there is no set text from which to work. Students will be provided with handouts and readings to help with conception of ideas to gain a better understanding of the topics under discussion.
ASSESSMENT:
Students will be assessed on their course work, which includes participation in class discussion, presentations, group projects or tests (60%) and a major research paper (40%) during the duration of the course for the total grade.
SUPPLEMENTARY TEXTS & OTHER MATERIALS:
There will be no required text at this time, but reference books should be available in the Library. Required articles will also be lodged in the library.
REFERENCE BOOKS:
Bettelheim Judith & John Nunley, Caribbean Festival Arts. Seattle and London:The Saint Louis Art Museum & University of Washington
Press, 1988.
Brandon, George. Santeria from Africa to the New World:The Dead Sell
Memories. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1997.
Consentino, Donald The Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou. Los
Angeles,California: UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural
History,1995.
Cowley, John, Carnival, Canboulay and Calypso. London: Cambridge
University Press, 1996.
David, Christine, The Folklore of Carriacou. Coles’ Printery Barbados, 1985.
Henry, Frances, Reclaiming African Religions in Trinidad. Barbados, Trinidad
& Jamaica: The University of the West Indies Press, 2005.
Olmos, Margarite Fernandez & Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert, Creole Religions
Of the Caribbean. New York: New York University Press, 2003.
Warner-Lewis, Maureen. Central Africa in the Caribbean: Transcending
Time, Transforming Cultures Barbados Trinidad and Jamaica: The University of the West Indies Press,
Videos:
Bahia - Africa in the Americas Black Atlantic on the Orixa Route
Voices of the Orishas; Celebration of Life in Guyana
The King Does Not Lie - Initiation of a Shango Priest Oggun
T.A.MARRYSHOW COMMUNITY COLLEGE
SCHOOL: Arts, Science & Prof. Studies DEPARTMENT: Arts & Cultural Studies
Course Number: CLS 201
COURSE TITLE: Material Culture of Africa
SEMESTER CREDIT HOURS: 3 credits/ 3 hours per week
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is an introduction to the material culture of the peoples of Africa south of the Sahara. It firstly identifies the geographical and climatic conditions which influence the development of these cultures. The students are exposed to the earliest development of art as the agent of society to reinforce religious and moral stability in a variety of cultures.
General Objectives:
This course will provide opportunities for continued development of students’ critical and analytical skills in talking, writing and researching works of art in a historical context.
Specific Objectives:
To introduce students to the arts of African cultures south of the Sahara. These include the permanent and ephemeral arts as they are presented in the use of tradition and ritual performance.
Class Structure:
Classes will take the format of lectures and discussions, supported by the use of slides, photographs and video/DVD presentations. Attendance at lectures is crucial.
Topics:
1. The African Continent – geographical and
climatic conditions influence lifestyles.
2. The migration of peoples from the Sahara south and westward.
The role of Paleolithic and Neolithic art in Africa
3. Early examples of art work – terra cotta from the Nok culture, Nigeria, 500 B.C. – 800 A.D.
4. African metallurgy – lost wax casting in Benin and Ife.
5. Textiles and decorations –
Barrk cloth from the Ituri Forest Peoples Zaire;
Raffia cloth of the Kuba Peoples;
loom-weaving of Kente cloth and Adinkra prints by the Ashanti
Adire cloth; dyeing and pattern-making by the Yoruba of Nigeria; The making of Bogolanfini or mudcloth from Mali.
6. Sculpture from Wood and Ivory .
The Yoruba of Nigeria,
Sherbro , Temne and Sapi of Sierra Leone,
Chokwe of Zaire and Dogon Peoples of Mali.
7. Ephemeral Arts: body painting and Scarification
Uli of the Igbo peoples, We peoples of Ivory Coast; Scarification of the Baule peoples.
8. Decorations and adornment: - gold.
The Akan of Ghana the Wolof and Tukulor of Senegal – gold;
Beadwork of the Ndebele, South Africa Bamileke of the Cameroon, and the Yoruba peoples of Nigeria - beadwork.
Materials: Slides, photographs, maps, videos, books and photocopied texts.
Readings: There is no major textbook for this course, but assigned reading lists for the classes will be
given along with the lectures.
Videos: The Ancient Africans
The Glories of Ancient Benin
African Art
The Ashanti Kingdom
A Great Tree has Fallen
The Aesthetics of Sculpture
T. A. MARRYSHOW COMMUNITY COLLEGE
SCHOOL: Arts, Science & Prof. Studies DEPARTMENT: Arts & Cultural Studies
Course Number: CLS 202
COURSE TITLE: Caribbean Arts - Visual Arts & Music
SEMESTER CREDIT HOURS: 3 credits/ 3 hours per week
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course examines the Visual Arts and the Music of the Caribbean.
The focus of this course is primarily on the cultural development of the
Arts, and the contributions made by the major cultural groups by way of retaining
cultural traditions, and the creative fusions in the present. In terms of music, the
use of different cultural instruments now brought together in a fusion of rhythms
and sounds as it is presented as the agent of social stability and unity in the
Caribbean. It deals not only with the ethnicity of the groups, but the process of
how these cultural markers are perpetuated.
GENERAL OBJECTIVES:
1. To acquaint students with influences, styles and themes of painting and sculpture by Caribbean artists since colonialism in the major Caribbean territories.
2. To trace the development of music in the different cultures which have created the fusion music of the Anglophone Caribbean - calypso, soca, reggae and the development of the steel pan.
3. To familiarise students with the proponents of the various art forms that have become the building blocks of Caribbean art and music.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:
1. To expose students to a wide knowledge of Caribbean artists and musicians and to understand the fusion of the visual and performance media and to compare and contrast these differences in terms of festivals / carnivals in various territories.
2. To create an interest in research and archival work in the uncharted areas of Art and Music in Grenada.
CONTENT:
1. Cultural identity in the studio arts (from 1940 - present) in the paintings, prints and sculpture of Cuba, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad, and Barbados.
2. Music - as presented by cultural instruments brought to the Caribbean from Africa and India, - percussion, woodwind, tonal and stringed instruments.
Development of Creole music traditions - Calypso, mento, ska, reggae
From the African drums, tambo-bamboo to the birth of the steel pan.
Crossing cultures and fusing the rhythms of India and Africa - from Soca to Tassa and Dhol rhythms.
3. Research on major proponents of these Artists (i.e. Capo, Leroy Clarke, Wifredo Lam, Canute Calliste , Hector Hyppolite, Karl Broodhagen) / Musicians (i.e. Lord Kitchener. Spree Simon, Pretender, Shorty-I, Bob Marley, Dictator).
METHODS OF INSTRUCTION:
A series of lectures will be given along with a presentation of slides, videos and possible guest lecturers (practitioners) and resource persons. There will also be the occasion that students may need to attend outside lectures or performances, and visit sites of interest. Attendance is important, as there is no set text from which to work. Students will be provided with handouts and readings to help with conception of ideas to gain a better understanding of the topics under discussion.
ASSESSMENT:
Students will be assessed on their course work, which includes participation in class discussion, presentations, group projects or tests (60%) and a major research paper (40%) during the duration of the course for the total grade.
REFERENCE BOOKS:
Bettelheim Judith & John Nunley, Caribbean Festival Arts. Seattle and London:The Saint Louis Art Museum & University of Washington
Press, 1988.
Hill, Errol. The Trinidad Carnival. London: New Beacon Books, 1997.
Poupeye, Veerle. Caribbean Art. New York: Thames & Hudson, 1998.
Thompson Allison, Alissandra Cummings & Nick Whittle. Art in Barbados:
What kind of Mirror Image? Kingston: Ian Randle Publishers &
Barbados Museum & Historical Society, 1999.
Wint, Eleanor & Carolyn Cooper (eds.) Bob Marley: The Man and His Music.
Kingston Jamaica: Arawak Publications, 2003.
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS:
Videos
Caribbean Eye Series (1 -10) Banyan Productions, Trinidad.
Bahia - Africa in the Americas
The Early Haitian Painters
Documentary on Voudoo.
African Art & the Legacy of Oppression
Crossing Over
Rumblings of the Earth – The Work of Wilfredo Lam
T.A.MARRYSHOW COMMUNITY COLLEGE
SCHOOL: Arts, Science & Prof. Studies DEPARTMENT: Arts & Cultural Studies
Course Number: CLS 203
COURSE TITLE: Survey of African Art
SEMESTER CREDIT HOURS: 3 credits/ 3 hours per week
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course examines art west of the Sahara. The focus of this course is primarily on the cultural development of art in Africa, as it is presented as the agent of social stability, religion and social control. It deals not only with the ethnicity of the groups, but the process of life and how these cultural markers are perpetuated. This course is designed to provide students with a foundation of knowledge in African art and the people who produce, use, sell, buy and exhibit such works. In particular, students will be exposed to a great variety of art forms including sculpture, textiles, metalwork, architecture and film. Emphasis is placed on theoretical approaches to the study of non-western art, the identification of works, styles, artists and the broad context in which each piece was conceived and executed.
General Objective:
This course will provide opportunities for continued development of students’ critical and analytical skills in talking, writing and researching works of art in a historical context.
Specific Objectives:
To familiarize students with the aesthetics of African culture south of the Sahara, and the role of art within the society. It will examine western preconceptions and realistic view of pre-colonial Africa than that presented by the media.
The student will be introduced to the basic corpus of sub-Saharan art, including permanent arts such as sculpture, textiles and architecture, as well as ephemeral arts such as masquerades, performances and body arts. This class will study the basic ideas (gender, art within political sphere, and spiritual / syncretic aspects of art) and cultural institution (initiations, closed associations, kingship, and titled associations) necessary for the study of African art. Gender, a human condition that serves as a determining factor in most African art and culture, is examined in the context of initiations (ceremonies that teach, reinforce, and negotiate gender roles) and the related art forms. Gender will be a theme throughout the course. We will also examine the role of art in creating and maintaining both centralized (classed) and non-centralized (classed and non-classed) political structure. Finally, we will discuss particular ethnic group’s worldviews and how art mediates between man and the ancestors and/or gods.
Topics:
The Diversity of Africa - Ancient and Modern
African Archaeology:
African Art and the Western World
African Worldview and Art.
Centralised and Non-Centralised art
Art and Mythology
Gender, Initiation and Masquerade
Figures of Power and Ritual
The Diaspora and the African Influence – Carnival
METHODS OF INSTRUCTION:
The course consists of a series of lectures in co-operation with video documentaries, films, photographs, slides, guest speakers and field trips. Class discussions are encouraged during the class. Students will be given readings from articles and reference books and will be expected to carry out research on areas of study.
ASSESSMENT:
Students will be assessed on their participation in class discussion, presentations, group projects and the major research paper. There will be tests on course work, which will provide 40 % of grade as well as the research project, which will be worth 60% of the total grade.
Materials:
Slides, photographs, videos, handouts and photocopied texts
Required Text and Readings
Visonà, Monica Blackmun, et al. A History of Art in Africa. (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2001).
Phillips, Tom, ed. Africa: The Art of A Continent. (London: Royal Academy of Arts,1995).
African Arts Journal
Videos:
African Art;
Efe Gelede Masquerades in Nigeria.
The King does not Lie:Initiation of a Shango priest.
A Great Tree Has Fallen.
The Dogon of Mali;
Caribbean Eye Series
Mondays’ Girls
Crossroads
Voices of the Orishas
Celebration of Life. Qwe-Qwe traditions of the Afro-Guyanese
Orisha in Trinidad
T.A.MARRYSHOW COMMUNITY COLLEGE
SCHOOL: Arts, Science & Prof. Studies DEPARTMENT: Arts & Cultural Studies
Course Number: CLS 204
COURSE TITLE: Caribbean Arts – Dance and Theatre
SEMESTER CREDIT HOURS: 3 credits/ 3 hours per week
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course examines the history and evolution of dance and theatre in the Caribbean and its influence on society as a means of communication, spirituality and also as entertainment. It looks at selected historical influences on style and dance in major civilizations and introduces students to the outstanding stalwarts in Caribbean dance and theatre of the early 20th century to present day. Such persons as Lavinia Williams, Rex Nettleford, Beryl McBurnie, Joffrey Holder and Pearl Primus in dance, and Ken Corsby, Errol Jones, Urias Peters, Alwyn Bully, Yvonne Weekes and Earl Warner in the theatre arts. Like all areas of the arts, the origins in the Caribbean were instituted by Europeans who introduced the performing arts for their personal entertainment, and with the inclusion of Caribbean people, this development moved along culturally different lines.
GENERAL OBJECTIVES
This course provides students with a chronological history of the performing arts - mainly the theatre arts and dance – and its development in the Caribbean. Students will be able to trace the different types of dances, which are the foundations of contemporary dance, and know the exponents of these dance forms in the various Caribbean territories. In the theatre arts, to investigate the festivals and performances of both master and slave classes during slavery, the ‘spontaneous theatre’ of ritual, street theatre and ‘mas’ from the more formal indigenous “theatre of playwright and entertainer” to popular theatre-in-education and storytelling theatre.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:
This course will equip students to discuss and write intelligently on the origins of dance and theatre and its later development.
Enhance students’ understanding and appreciation of the social and cultural influences that have affected dance and theatre over time.
Assist students to apply methodologies such as reading, critical writing, research projects, video viewing and classroom discussions to develop knowledge, skills and attitudes associated with critical concepts in the history of dance and theatre.
METHODS OF INSTRUCTION:
The course consists of a series of lectures in co-operation with video documentaries, films, photographs, slides, guest speakers and field trips. Class discussions are encouraged during the class. Students will be given readings from articles and reference books and will be expected to carry out research on areas of study.
ASSESSMENT:
Students will be assessed on their participation in class discussion, presentations, group projects and the major research paper. There will be tests on course work, which will provide 40 % of grade as well as the research project, which will be worth 60% of the total grade.
COURSE CONTENT
Dance and Theatre – early origins: rituals, rites etc.
Early pioneers – European/American/Afro-Americans
African Dance and theatre development and evolution
Social, cultural, historical and psychological influences on dance and theatre
Evolution of dance and theatre as an art form
Dance and Theatre in other civilizations – evolution of the art form
Philosophy and aesthetics of dance and theatre
African retentions in Caribbean dance
Contemporary theatre in the Caribbean
RECOMMENDED READINGS ON DANCE AND THEATRE
Ahye, Molly, Cradle of Caribbean Dance Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago:
Heritage Cultures, 1983.
Corsby, Ken. Theatre Arts in the Caribbean.
Nettleford, Rex. Dance Jamaica: Cultural Definition and Artistic Discovery, The
National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica, 1962-1983. New York; Grove Press, 1985.
Cass, Joan. Dancing Through History. New Jersey, Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1993
Brathwaite, Edward. Folk Culture of the Slaves in Jamaica. London: New
Beacon Books, 1970.
Buckle, Richard, ed. Katherine Dunham, Her Dancers, Singers, Musicians. (Illustrated by Roger Wood and other photographers) London: Ballet
Publications,1949.
Thorpe, Edward. Black Dance. Chatto & Windus, London,1989.
Long, Richard. The Black Traditions in American Dance. Smithmark Publishers
Inc. USA, 1995.
T. A. MARRYSHOW COLLEGE
SCHOOL: Arts Science & Prof. Studies DEPARTMENT: Cultural Studies
Course Number: CLS 205
COURSE TITLE: Caribbean Literary Heritage
SEMESTER CREDIT HOURS: 3 credits / 3 hours per week
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course introduces the students to a study of the literary heritage specifically the English-speaking territories of the Caribbean. This course will introduce students to the broad corpus of literature from the fifteenth century when writers such as Columbus wrote about the Caribbean. The major focus of the course will be on the vigorously growing literature of the English-speaking Caribbean since 1945. It will trace developments over the last fifty years through excerpt readings of novels, short stories and poems (including performance poetry). Beginning with the older generation of writers such as George Lamming, Wilson Harris, V.S. Naipaul, Samuel Selvon, Jean Rhys and Derek Walcott, it will test from a post-colonial perspective the statement that ‘the literature of the West Indies is, first, last and essentially a colonial literature’. Caribbean writing of the 1950s and 1960s was dominated by male authors whose formative experience was of the West Indies before independence. Since 1970 there has been a dramatic rise in women's writing, represented by Merle Hodge, Merle Collins and others. At the same time ‘Caribbean’ culture has been reshaped by writers (men and women) of West Indian origin brought up abroad in the post-colonial era, such as Jacob Ross. We shall consider the impact of these changes on concepts of gender, language, personal identity and trans-cultural ‘hybridity’.
GENERAL OBJECTIVES
This course will examine Caribbean literature with regards to the influence of language, the Diaspora, colonial legacy, the slave era, racial experience and creolisation. We will see in the majority of our texts, which are novels and poetry from the late twentieth century that the history and culture of each territory informs the present understanding of Caribbean cultural identity.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
To introduce students to a historical frame of literary references throughout the period from the 1900s through to present day, to show the changes and developments that have taken place.
Students may be able to identify Caribbean writers and their countries of origin, the historical framework associated with when they wrote and the genre of their work.
Topics For Discussion
1. Proverbs and Anansi Stories - Traditional story-telling
2 Literature of the English-speaking Caribbean early 20th century
3. Literature of the English-speaking Caribbean since 1945.
4 The post-colonial perspective
5 Anti-colonial groundings, Revolution and the period of Negritude
6 Racial experiences abroad and at home
7 Re-emergence of things African!
8 New language – nation language
9 Contemporary literature and the gender perspective.
METHODS OF INSTRUCTION:
The course consists of a series of lectures in co-operation with video documentaries, films, photographs, slides, guest speakers and field trips. Class discussions are encouraged during the class. Students will be given readings from articles and reference books and will be expected to carry out research on areas of study.
ASSESSMENT:
Students will be assessed on their participation in class discussion, presentations, group projects and the major research paper. There will be tests on course work, which will provide 40 % of grade as well as the research project, which will be worth 60% of the total grade.
Examples of the writers from the Caribbean territories are:
Jamaica - Louise Bennett , V.S. Reid, Andrew Salkey
Barbados – George Lamming, Austin “Tom” Clarke, Kamau Brathwaite
Trinidad – Samuel Selvon, V.S.Naipaul, Earl Lovelace, E.L.Joseph
Guyana – Wilson Harris, J.G. Cruickshank
St. Lucia – Derek Walcott,
Grenada – Merle Collins, Jacob Ross, Ricardo and Paul Keens-Douglas
Dominica – Jean Rhys, Lennox Honeychurch
Antigua – Jamaica Kincaid
Haiti – Edwidge Danticat
Martinique – Frantz Fanon, Aime Césaire,
Cuba – Alejo Carpentier
REQUIRED TEXTS AND READINGS
Phyllis Shand Allfrey – The Orchid House
Michael Anthony – The Year in San Fernando
Louise Bennett – “Colonisation in Reverse”
Kamau Brathwaite – Middle Passage (1992) Mother Poem (1972)
Alejo Carpentier - Explosion in a Cathedral
Aime Césaire –
Austin Clarke – Growing up Stupid under the Union Jack
Merle Collins – The Colour of Forgetting
J. Graham Cruickshank - Black Talk (1916)
Edwidge Danticat – The Farming of Bones
Frantz Fanon – Black Skin White Mask
Wilson Harris – Palace of the Peacocks or “The Sleepers of Roraima”.
Merle Hodge – Crick Crack Monkey
E.L. Joseph – Warner Arundell: Adventures of a Creole
Paul Keens-Douglas – Tim -Tim
Ricardo Keens-Douglas – The Nutmeg Princess
Jamaica Kincaid - Annie John (1985)
George Lamming – In the Castle of my Skin
Earl Lovelace – The Wine of Astonishment
V.S. Naipaul – House of Mr. Biswas
Jean Rhys – Wide Sargasso Sea
Jacob Ross – Song for Simone
Andrew Salkey – The Hurricane (1964)
Samuel Selvon – “Brackley and the bed”
V.S. Reid – Peter of Mount Ephraim
Derek Walcott – Ti-Jean and his Brothers
Materials
Excerpts from novels, short stories and poems
Slides, videos/DVDs, photographs,