Cities of Gold: Pre-Columbian Civilizations of North and Central America (2),
- Course Code: HAH96
- Dates: 29/05/24 - 03/07/24
- Time: 15:00 - 17:00
- Taught: Wed, Daytime
- Duration: 6 sessions (over 6 weeks)
- Location: Keeley Street
- Tutor: Max Carocci
Course Code: HAH96
Duration: 6 sessions (over 6 weeks)
Please note: We offer a wide variety of financial support to make courses affordable. Just visit our online Help Centre for more information on a range of topics including fees, online learning and FAQs.
What is the course about?
This course covers pre-conquest Native North American societies whose mythology fuelled the Spanish conquest of North America. It is about Native American urban environments, indigenous North American achievements, trade and contacts with Mesoamerica, and cultural differences across the continent.
What will we cover?
The Spanish myths of the golden cities, the fountain of youth etc.; the sophistication and complexity of North
American urban cultures, the remarkable cultural peculiarities of each region, their religion, architecture,
astronomy, and arts.
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
You will learn about pre-Columbian architecture’s astronomical alignments, hydraulic engineering, artistic
achievements, cultural rise and collapse, Mesoamerican connections, influences and differences between North
and Mexican societies. By the end of the course you should be able to: name and differentiate pre-Columbian
cultures of North America, compare their particular features with Mesoamerican societies, and place them in
historical perspective.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
This is an introductory course and does not assume any previous study or reading. As with most of our classical
civilisations courses, intellectual curiosity and an open mind are more important than specific levels of skills.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
Classes are taught through a variety of teaching methods, among which Power point presentations, group
exercises, questionnaires, questions and answers. No additional activity is planned outside the class.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
No other costs. Bring writing material if you wish to take notes.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
The course is complementary to other courses in history and civilisations, for example: Maya, Aztecs, Inca, Pre-
Columbian cultures part 1: South America. Please see our website or ask your tutor for more information.
In addition to teaching for City Lit, anthropologist Max Carocci is Associate Professor of Art History and Visual Culture at Richmond, the American University in London. After twelve years teaching and coordinating the join programme World Arts and Artefacts for Birkbeck and the British Museum, Max continued to teach in universities (University of East Anglia, Chelsea College of Art, and Goldsmiths College). Max is research active, and promotes anthropology through public talks, documentary making, consultancies, collaborations with learned institutions, museums and galleries, as well as the publishing world. He curated exhibitions for the British Museum, the Royal Anthropological Institute (London), the Weltkulturen Museum (Frankfurt), and the Venice Biennale, and currently continues his involvement with indigenous artists from the Americas on multiple projects. His forthcoming co-edited book Art, Observation, and an Anthropology of Illustration (Bloomsbury, 2022) will complement a co-authored book he is writing with Native American art historian Stephanie Pratt on mutual representations of Europeans and indigenous Americans in the visual arts.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.
