Introduction to African Art and Architecture In this course, we will explore the rich history of Africa’s art and architecture. Through lectures, readings, videos, museum visits, and discussions, we will examine sites, ritual arts, artistic genres, and contemporary art made for global audiences. Examples include prehistoric Saharan and Kalahari rock paintings; ancient Egyptian, Nubian, Zimbabwean, and Ethiopian architecture; Sahelian mosques; Kongo ritual art; body arts; and El Anatsui’s dazzling bottlecap sculptures. When possible, we will highlight intersections between Africa and Euro-America, proposing that present framings of this history are as much a legacy of the latter as the cultures from whom the art originates. In so doing, we will gain an appreciation for the heritage of African art and its significance to Africa and the world.

Senior Thesis Research Seminar In this course students will conceive, undertake research, and plan the organization of their senior thesis in art history or senior museum studies projects.  Seminar discussions and workshops will focus on research strategies, conventions in art historical writing, project design, and public presentation skills. (HARC 0301; Approval Required) 3 hr. sem.

Seeing Double: Ideas of Duality in Sub-Saharan African Art From idealized sculptural pairs to hermaphroditic figures, ideas of doubling and duality are enduring concerns in many sub-Saharan African cultures. In this seminar, we will explore this theme by closely analyzing artworks from Mali to Madagascar from the 12th to the 21st century whose iconography features couples and dualistic imagery as well as bipartite figurative and masquerade traditions, among others. Through weekly readings, written and verbal reflections, and museum visits, we will elucidate relationships between the objects and the worldviews that inspired them. Culminating in a virtual group exhibit and complementary individual research papers and presentations, we will learn how these artworks make visible powerful abstract forces that influence the behaviors, well-being, and lives of their users.

Beyond Boundaries: Ancient Arts of the Nile and Niger Rivers In this  course we will push beyond longstanding foreign conceptualizations of Africa by exploring the continent’s deep histories and the transcultural nature of ancient civilizations and kingdoms that coalesced around the Nile and Niger Rivers from approximately 3000 B.C.E. through the 19th century. Through lectures, readings, written and verbal reflections, and museum visits, we will examine artistic exchanges between ancient Egypt and Nubia; creative flows among Ife, Owo, Benin, and producers of the Lower Niger Bronze complex; and cross-cultural connections among Sahelian empires and medieval Europe. In so doing, we will comprehend the beauty, richness, diversity, and global nature of artistic traditions in these regions. As Yoruba people say, “Our culture is like a river, it is never at rest.”

Benin Art: Power and Provenance In 1897, Ralph Locke, an operative of the infamous British Punitive Expedition, stole a leopard sculpture from the Royal Palace in Benin City (Nigeria). The stunning piece, an emblem of the Benin king’s supernatural and military power, now hangs in Middlebury’s Museum. Through readings, films, digital media, museum visits, workshops with museum professionals, discussions, and short written assignments, we will learn the history of Benin art and join international efforts to repatriate Middlebury’s Benin leopard. As the College prepares to open a new museum and expand its African collection, together we will advance its efforts by researching the provenance of its current African holdings. The only prerequisites are curiosity and a desire to effect change through art.

Exhibiting Africa: History, Theory, and Praxis In this seminar, we will explore the (im)possibilities of representing Africa’s arts in museums. Through readings, images, websites, discussions, and museum visits, we will survey Euro-America’s shifting valuation of artworks from Africa from the late 19th century to the present and the implications for installation and interpretation. We will consider recent curatorial strategies to address the challenges of representing African art in museums, examining the categories of contemporary vs. “traditional” art, questions of authenticity, the art market’s influence on museum collections, issues of provenance and repatriation, and efforts to decolonize the museum. Culminating in an imaginary exhibit, the course probes the past and the present to introduce students to the theoretical and practical aspects of museology.

An Introduction to Global Visual Culture This course is an introduction to the visual cultures of the world, with an emphasis on how images, objects, and monuments are made, experienced, exchanged, and used by groups of people with diverse religious, socio-economic, and cultural backgrounds. We will focus on themes that have been taken up by different cultures and adapted over time, such as monumentality, the sacred, embodiment, science, and technology. Through a close study of these themes, we will consider how materials, cultures, and histories are transformed and negotiated through making and viewing works of art. In the process, we will challenge the art historical canon by shedding light on marginalized periods, regions, and artworks.

Masks and the Senses in Sub-Saharan Africa Multi-sensorial spectacles involving visual and performing arts, masquerades are among Africa’s oldest and most dynamic expressive forms, long used to negotiate power, heal, and entertain across the continent and Diaspora. In this seminar, we place the sensing body at the heart of our exploration of masquerades, asking how sensory perception informs artistic creation and interpretation. Using case studies, and emphasizing how masquerades adapt to historical change, we consider the history of the senses, their differences across cultures and time, and their hierarchies to understand their role in knowledge production. Through discussions, readings, written reflections, videos, and museum visits, we move beyond the limitations of our sensoria to deepen our understanding and appreciation of African arts.

Marguerite Lenius

Reviews and ratings for Marguerite Lenius at Middlebury College.Marguerite Lenius teaches Introduction to African Art, Senior Thesis Research Seminar, Duality in African Art and more.  Explore top rated instructors and find the best for you.Is Marguerite Lenius good ? Find out on MiddCourses.

Professor Lenius is very passionate which makes it a lot easier to engage with the material. Lots of writing but not unbearable because she is a great professor. African art is a really unique and interesting course.

I thoroughly enjoyed this course! Memorization for exams was definitely time-consuming, but the exams were very straightforward and laid out very well beforehand. The professor was extremely clear and concise; I would love to take another course with them.

I really enjoyed how this class was centered around the "Beyond Boundaries" Exhibition at the Middlebury College Museum of Art. We were lucky enough to have a couple classes dedicated to exhibition workshops, during which we were able to talk with curators and exhibition designers and partly witness how the exhibition came together. What was slightly less engaging about the class was the readings, which were often long and dense and potentially difficult to navigate with little prior knowledge. The flow of the discussion-based lectures also suffered from this. However, it was really evident how enthusiastic the professor was about the topic and I really benefitted from the assignments, particularly the wall texts draft and object text label, which offered a springboard to better concretize some of the most crucial and core arguments of the class.