AROUND THE COLLEGE
Janet Purdy at Hazrat Pir Mohammad Shah Mosque Library in Ahmedabad, India, in December 2017. Photo courtesy Janet Purdy.
the risks and rewards of art history:
Janet Purdy’s Immersive Experiences in Africa When art history doctoral candidate Janet Purdy left a lucrative career as a designer in Chicago to attend graduate school and study African art, she knew that she was taking a chance. What she had not anticipated was that while packing for the move, she would uncover old sketchbooks from her undergraduate days filled with drawings of African textiles and patterns that would prove she was making the right decision. “I had completely forgotten about them, but I was always fascinated with design and how cultures communicated through patterns and iconography,” noted Purdy. “Finding those drawings at that time was a really special ‘close the circle’ moment.” Purdy’s dissertation research focuses on the patterns of carved wooden doors as a form of historical documentation and conveyor of ideology and identity. By investigating their sociopolitical
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contexts throughout the Swahili Coast, she aims to reveal the doors’ meanings within their cultures and preserve their role in communication and narrative. Her project combines research, archaeology, and digital mapping and reproduction, making stylistic and symbolic connections across Indian Ocean trade routes. In 2017, Purdy was awarded a Critical Language Scholarship by the U.S. Department of State to study Swahili in Tanzania for two months. She was one of twenty-three American students who participated in this intensive language and cultural immersion program, the first year that Swahili was included on the list of languages understudied by American students and government. Purdy is a student of Bill Dewey, associate professor of art history in the College of Arts and Architecture and director of the African Studies
