AAST 286 - Intro to Africana Aesthetics and Aesthesis

FC ARHU CD

4 credits
Critical inquiry into the aesthetic and aesthesis devices shaping Africana approaches to art, performance, and perception across continental and diasporic worlds. Distinguishes aesthetics (value, form, judgment) from aesthesis (embodied perception and relational knowing) to center Africana sensing and meaning-making. Students identify recurring principles-rhythm, polycentrism, repetition with variation, call-and-response, improvisation, communal authorship, presence, groove-and track how they travel across time, genre, and geography. The course examines why Black forms build community and spread globally, linking participatory structures to migration, media industries, appropriation, and renaming. Emphasis on critique, research, and grant-ready writing. Open to all levels; no prior coursework required in practice. This course can be repeated once for credit.

This course is appropriate for new students.
This course is cross-listed with DANC-286