ARTH 232 - Islamic Art and Architecture

Institution:

DePauw University

Subject:

Description:

Group 3, 1 course This course is an introduction to Muslim visual culture from its Arabian origins, through the medieval period of its ascendance, to the Turkish conquest of Constantinople in 1453 and Mughal rule in India. An introductory section surveys the historical and geographical parameters of Islamic civilization, its religious worldview, forms of political authority and social organization. Through slide-based lectures and group discussions, students then encounter the astonishing beauty of monuments such as the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, the Great Mosque of Cordoba, the Alhambra Palace in Granada, the Taj Mahal in Agra, and examine their decoration in a variety of media (painting, mosaic, stucco, ceramic tile). The luxury arts' breathtaking carvings in ivory or gold, lavishly illustrated manuscripts, fine pottery and glasswork--are studied against the backdrop of Islamic attitudes towards the arts, the prohibition of figurative imagery, the preeminence of calligraphy and textiles, and the cosmological meaning of geometrical design. Throughout the course students are made aware of the process of creative assimilation from pre-Islamic or non-Muslim traditions, a process by which Islam gradually acquired its own distinct visual identity, and projected its own cultural ambiance far beyond the Middle East.

Credits:

1.00 - 3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.depauw.edu

Phone Number:

(765) 658-4800

Regional Accreditation:

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Four-one-four plan

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