The course acquaints Gustavus students to the visual and cultural history of the indigenous civilizations of central and southern Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Belize between the first millennium BC and the Spanish conquest in AD 1521.

We will study the major and minor arts of Mesoamerica. These include architecture, sculpture, painting, ceramics, jade and bone carving and codices. We will analyze the complex iconographic messages encoded in these art works and the sophisticated manipulation of formal qualities achieved by their artists. We will study the socio-political systems, the intellectual achievements, the religious beliefs, the ritual practices, and the technological levels that formed the context from which the art evolved.

Requirements for this course include class attendance and participation, readings from textbooks and scholarly publications, leadership of class discussion sessions and a research paper. You will be expected to complete reading assignments from class textbooks by the assigned date and to participate in class discussions based on those readings. You will also be asked to complete reading assignments that consist of scholarly readings and to work in small groups to lead class discussions. You will be asked to choose a topic for a research paper by the end of the sixth week. While each of you will choose a different topic, all of you will be encouraged to share your research materials and your interpretive ideas with each other. The development of your paper will include the preparation of an outline, a three-page summary of your ideas and research, a first draft and a final draft. At each stage, you will benefit from the response, not only of myself, but also of your class colleagues.