AH 323 - Arts of Tenochtitlán-Mexico City

The arrival of Europeans in the Americas in 1492 inaugurated one of the most remarkable and brutal encounters in human history. This course will examine the visual and material culture created in the aftermath of this cultural collision in Mexico, the former Viceroyalty of New Spain, from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. Discussion will center on the ancient Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlán, soon to become Mexico City in the wake of Spanish invasion. The course will consider, for example, featherwork, manuscripts, mural and easel painting, sculpture, architecture and urban planning, mapping, and ritual and performance as visual practices. (Offered every year.) 3 credits