Undergraduate Course: The Rise of Islamic Art: Transforming the Classical Heritage (500-750) (HIAR10064)
Course Outline
| School |
School of Arts, Culture and Environment |
College |
College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type |
Standard |
Availability |
Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) |
SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Credits |
20 |
| Home subject area |
History of Art |
Other subject area |
None |
| Course website |
None |
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| Course description |
Coming from a predominantly nomadic culture, the Arabs came to have, within a century of the Muslim conquests, an achieved material culture. This course explores the astonishing rise and growth of Islamic art in this period, with a focus on the first great Muslim dynasty, the Umayyads. It investigates, among other themes, religious and palatial architecture, the urban fabric of the Near-East, early Muslim painting and the emergence of Arabic calligraphy. The material evidence and related texts will be studied in a broad historical continuum which stretches from late Antiquity to early Islam. We will thereby engage in a reflection about the roots of Islamic civilisation and the fluidity of religious boundaries in this period. |
Course Delivery Information
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
| Students will gain a thorough knowledge of early Islamic art, its historical context and origins. The course will be encourage them to use a multidiscplinary approach and hold a critical stance towards the printed word. It will also illustrate how, through the lens of material culture, one can approach a civilisation?s deeper layers of meaning. |
Assessment Information
| 1 x two hour examination paper (50%) and 1 extended essay (50%). |
| Please see Visiting Student Prospectus website for Visiting Student Assessment information |
Special Arrangements
| Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser |
Dr Alain George
Tel:
Email: a.george@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary |
Mrs Sue Cavanagh
Tel: (0131 6)51 1460
Email: Sue.Cavanagh@ed.ac.uk |
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1 September 2010 6:05 am
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