Art & Art History Professor Christopher D. Roy publishes new book

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

 Visions of Africa
Mossi: Visions of Africa

University of Iowa Professor Christopher D. Roy has published a new book, Mossi: Visions of Africa.

From the book description on Amazon.com:

“The Mossi people of Burkina Faso have a rich and complex history that is mirrored by the several types and styles of figures and masks they create. The chiefs use political art in the form of royal figures to validate their rule, while those in the spiritual class make masks that represent the spirits of nature. Unlike several other West African peoples, the Mossi have not converted to Islam in large numbers, so they continue to create spiritual art much as their ancestors did hundreds of years ago. As this book attests, the Mossi have continued to create brilliant works that they use to this day to express ideas about politics and religion.”

Roy is a professor in the School of Art & Art History, part of the UI College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. He is also the Elizabeth M. Stanley Faculty Fellow of African Art History. Roy teaches courses in African, pre-Columbian, American Indian and Pacific Islands art. His research focuses on the art of Burkina Faso and West Africa.


The University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences offers about 70 majors across the humanities; fine, performing and literary arts; natural and mathematical sciences; social and behavioral sciences; and communication disciplines. About 15,000 undergraduate and nearly 2,000 graduate students study each year in the college’s 37 departments, led by faculty at the forefront of teaching and research in their disciplines. The college teaches all Iowa undergraduates through the college's general education program, CLAS CORE. About 80 percent of all Iowa undergraduates begin their academic journey in CLAS. The college confers about 60 percent of the university's bachelor's degrees each academic year.