A Savannah African Art Museum Lecture Series
Becoming Gendered is a three-part series about gender within the context of traditional, sub-Saharan, African societies. While gender is often defined in terms of biology, this series focuses on the culturally sanctioned and derived side of gender identity. This includes an introduction to the subject of contemporary gender studies, combined with a look at how initiation societies, masquerades, and other practices perpetuate cultural norms and practices relating to gender. This series is led by museum registrar, Edwin Hamilton Johnson, Ph.D.
All classes and lectures are free to the public by registering through the Eventbrite links below or by joining our Facebook Live feed.
All of our classes and lectures are held on the second floor of the Upbeat Village Terracotta Gallery and are stair access only. To accommodate guests with mobility issues, an online version of this lecture will be provided through Facebook Live.
If you plan on attending the class in person, seating is limited, so you must register through the individual Eventbrite links below.
Creating Gender, Making Art
Friday, October 21, 2022 | 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
The first lecture in the series combines a general introduction to the current state of gender studies and how it applies to the analysis of gender within the context of traditional African societies. This is combined with how gender is granted, and norms are perpetuated through initiation societies and professions among a select sampling of traditional African societies.
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to watch the lecture
Livestream on Facebook.
Gender through the Igbo Lens
Friday, November 18, 2022 | 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
The second session in this series will continue on the subject of gender with a special focus on the Igbo peoples of southeastern Nigeria. It begins with a look at how the novel, Things Fall Apart by the Igbo artist Chinua Achebe, touches upon gender issues within the context of a traditional Igbo community from an Igbo perspective. This lecture also includes how ritual and art is used within traditional Igbo communities to perpetuate gender roles, norms, archetypes and stereotypes within these patriarchal communities.
Click on the Icon above
to watch the lecture
Livestream on Facebook.
Mukanda Models of Gender
Friday, December 30, 2022 | 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
The third session in the series, focuses on the Mukanda initiation society. Not only is this a look into the initiation society as an institution, it looks at how it negotiates with the subject of gender. This includes how the Mukanda society disseminates ideal examples of gender types. This lecture also looks at how rituals are used to reinforce cultural norms of behavior and relationships between genders.
