MA The Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas

This course provides in-depth coverage of the three regions (Africa, Oceania and the Americas, taught in three separate units) as well as general theoretical and methodological issues, including museum anthropology. Themes addressed on the course might include ceremonial practices; representations of power and legitimacy; architecture and cosmology; valuables, exchange and the market for artefacts; and ethnographic museums and display. You will also write a dissertation on a topic of your choice, supervised by a member of faculty.

Over the autumn and spring terms you will attend a series of weekly lecture-discussions, giving you an understanding of each region’s visual arts. These sessions also introduce the main methodological and theoretical issues raised in the area’s literature, and develop your intellectual skills. You will also receive practical instruction in presentation and teaching techniques, so that you become experienced in presenting written and visual material to an academic audience.

In addition to the three regional units, special seminars also cover museological topics, including the anthropology of art; the issue of style; value systems; looting and cultural property; the history and display of anthropological collections; and the Sainsbury Collection. Teaching is enhanced by guided visits to museums (for example, in London, Paris, Cambridge, Oxford) and, where feasible, to temporary displays and auctions of ethnographic materials. These sessions culminate with a timed essay assessment but they are also designed to help you as you develop your other written work.