Looking at Colour: An Anthropological Perspective

“Colour is the place where our brain and the universe meet” said painter Paul Klee.

Colour matters to us. It is important to people in all the cultures that we know about through time and space. Sometimes the ways colour matters are similar, sometimes they are different, but they are always interesting. This course will investigate the significance of colour for the way we and others understand the world.

The emphasis will be on discussion, sharing ideas based on the cross-cultural material provided in class as well as our own individual experiences.

Who is this course for?

The course is for anyone who is interested in finding out what Anthropology can contribute to our understanding of colour. The only requirement is that you are open-minded, prepared to contribute to discussion, and interested in people and their ideas.

Anthropologists take a holistic view of human development and diversity. They gather evidence from many sources including popular culture – art, films, literature, magazines, music, galleries, museums, the internet - as well as from direct observation and academic texts. They use this evidence to compare the ways people in different communities behave and the beliefs underlying that behavior. One important and interesting area of study concerns colour. What similarities and differences do we find in beliefs and behavior around colour in different cultures across space and time? What is the effect of those different traditions? What happens when those traditions change – whether through drift or intent? What about the values involved?

By the end of the course you should be able to:

• Use examples to compare beliefs and behavior about colour in different cultures.

• Analyse at least one example of the significance of a belief about colour in a particular society

• Evaluate the usefulness of anthropology in understanding different approaches to colour.