Art & Arch of Islamic World

Catalog description

This course will cover the rich legacy of Islamic art and architecture from the seventh century to the present, including the architecture and decoration of buildings ranging from mosques to palaces, illuminated manuscripts of all sorts, luxury objects such as metalwork and ivories, and more. We will consider the religious, political, and aesthetic contexts of monuments produced in the Arab Middle East, Iran, India, Turkey, North Africa, Spain, and beyond. We will also consider issues such as contemporary art, the collecting of Islamic art in Western museums, and the effect of iconoclasm on cultural production and historic preservation.