HISTORY OF ISLAMIC ART AND ARCHITECTURE

ARTHIST 413

The tenth century CE marked a period of drastic change in the Islamic world, as the unified Islamic caliphate splintered into three rival dynasties: the Sunni Iraqi Abbasids, Spanish Umayyads, and the Shi'ite Fatimids in Egypt. Consider this turning point in the history of Islamic culture through the lens of art and architectural patronage. Explore the architectural and urban projects of the three dynasties to examine competing visions of power, sources of legitimacy and the development of Cairo, Baghdad/Samarra and Cordoba as capital cities. Also consider the role of portable arts, addressing the role of exchange and gift-giving in the Mediterranean context and the problems of attribution in this highly mobile environment. Themes include the role of sectarian identity (Shi'ite vs Sunni); the incorporation of Christian and Jewish culture; the relation between the court and urban populations; and the meaning of ornament and style in Islamic art.

ARTHIST 440

Considers the use of art and architecture as an expression of power in the Arab world, from the seventh century to the present. Beginning with the establishment of the caliphate and ending with the arts of revolution following the Arab Spring, investigates the shifting role of art and architecture in the quest for political dominance. With a particular focus on the arts of Cairo, Baghdad, Cordoba, Mecca, Jerusalem, Damascus, and the modern Arabian Gulf, explore competing visions of power and sources of legitimacy, through the lens of artistic production.

ARTHIST 201

Examines the arts and cultures of Europe and the Mediterranean basin before the Renaissance. Explores canonical works such as the pyramids at Giza, the Parthenon in Athens, the Venus di Milo, Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, the Book of Kells, the Great Mosque at Córdoba, Chartres cathedral, and Giotto's Arena Chapel. Define art broadly, to encompass the material culture of everyday life, including jewelry, ceramics, and textiles. Considers the social and historical contexts of art and artistic production - art and imperialism, ethnicity, technology, religious ritual and belief, and myth and storytelling, and its relationships to basic human concerns: death and the afterlife, desire and the body, self-definition and portraiture, power and propaganda, monstrosity and the supernatural, the divine and the sacred. Develops crucial skill sets: critical visual analysis, contextual interpretation, research methods and resources, historiography, and oral, written and digital communication.

ARTHIST 810

Rotating topics in Islamic art and architectural history.

ARTHIST 510

A rotating topic in Islamic Art and Architectural History