Islamic Architecture and Art

Catalog description

Survey of the art and architecture of Islamic lands from the late seventh century until the eighteenth century. ARTH 125 Islamic Architecture and Art (3) (GA;IL)(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. Art History 125 provides an introduction to the arts of Islam from its birth and early formation in the seventh-eighth centuries to the eighteenth century through the examination of architecture, painting and calligraphy, and the decorative arts (metalworking, ceramics, glassware, ivory carving). The focus is on the traditional Islamic areas including Spain, North Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia, although the spread of Islam to other regions (e.g., Southeast Asia and especially Indonesia, the world's most populous Islamic country) may also be included. Each of the major traditions of Islamic art will be examined in a generally chronological sequence; these include the Abbasids, the Ummayads of Spain, the Fatimads of Egypt, the Seljuqs, the Ilkhanids (Mongols), the Timurids, the Mamluks of Egypt, the Safavids of Persia, the Ottoman Turks, and the Mughals of India. The course will conclude with a discussion of "Orientalism" and more recent developments in Islamic art and architecture. The course is designed to meet two principal goals. The first is to develop skills of visual analysis and a critical vocabulary for discussing the media, technologies, styles, and composition of Islamic art. The second is to foster an understanding of art--and visual culture in general--according to social, economic, political, and religious contexts. Key topics include: patronage, issues of reception and aesthetics, the important link between art and text in the Islamic tradition, the organization and use of sacred space, gender issues, relationships between the art of various regions and cultures, and the western interpretation of Islam as part of the discourse on "Orientalism." Requirements include essay exams and at least one paper. As a general education course, this class provides an introduction to Islamic art and architecture for students of any major. It has no prerequisites, and presumes no prior exposure to art history. Students majoring in Art History will learn vocabulary, methodology, and theory that is not only basic to the field, but which will also broaden their knowledge of the discipline as a whole.