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DRPS : Course Catalogue : Edinburgh College of Art : History of Art

Postgraduate Course: Art and Cultural Exchange in Mughal India 1500-1900 (HIAR11092)

Course Outline
SchoolEdinburgh College of Art CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryHow did the Mughals see themselves and how were they seen? This course addresses cross-cultural themes that include global as well as regional ones in the diverse arts of Mughal India, that is, those parts of South Asia or the Indian subcontinent under the Mughal Empire. While the course ranges from the early 16th to the late 18th century, it focuses on the period when the Mughal state was at its height under the 'Great Mughals', as the first six emperors are called. It addresses the broader geographic, cultural and epistemological contexts from early modern Asia and Europe, within which Mughal-era art and architecture flourished. Seminar topics include but also go beyond the discourse of leading Mughals as prolific builders and connoisseurs of painting, bringing in the various material means that went into the making of the Mughal world.
Course description The Mughal Empire was one of the most prominent early modern polities of the world, and one of the three Islamic great powers along with Safavid Iran and Ottoman Turkey. This course examines the role of material and visual culture in shaping Mughal sensibilities and realising its finer nuances. It interrogates the related means through which the Mughal Empire presented itself and interacted with its Indian subjects and the wider world. It is also concerned with 'the sense of the planet' displayed in Mughal art through depictions of animals and the hunt, as well as objects made of animal remains.

Themes include: The formation of Mughal identity and its worldview; architectural projects, innovations and gardens; the imperial painting atelier and Mughal craftsmanship; Sanskritic and Persianate literary and artistic exchanges; textiles and trade; collecting and connoisseurship; the hunt and animals. Methodologically, the course is based on case studies, and, conceptually, on interlinked themes.

The course is delivered in weekly two-hour seminars. The seminar format will encourage active participation through informal student presentations and class discussion. Students will be expected to prepare for each seminar by reading key set texts and undertaking independent research on specific artworks and topics as directed. Students will be introduced to the South Asian collection in the Heritage Collections of the University of Edinburgh, as well as collections of Mughal art within Edinburgh.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  20
Course Start Semester 1
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20, Feedback/Feedforward Hours 1, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 175 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) 100% weighting of the 4,000-word essay using the University Common Marking Scheme.

Assessment regulations are set out in the following document:
http://www.docs.sasg.ed.ac.uk/AcademicServices/Regulations/TaughtAssessmentRegulations.pdf
Feedback 2 hrs per week (seminars) plus 1:1 essay preparation meeting for which you will prepare an abstract and brief bibliography for discussion.
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate an integrated knowledge of the theories and concepts associated with the arts of the Mughal State and its regional courts.
  2. Demonstrate skills in visual and theoretical analysis in relation to key works that speak to the global and cross-cultural interaction in the arts of Mughal India.
  3. Apply skills of critical reflection, synthesis and evaluation towards complex issues of identity, 'otherness', empire and dominant and sub-cultures.
Reading List
Asher, Catherine B. Architecture of Mughal India. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.

Eaton, Richard. India in the Persianate Age, 1000-1765. London: Allen Lane, 2019.

Koch, Ebba. Mughal Art and Imperial Ideology: Collected Essays. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2001.

Moin, A. Azfar. The Millennial Sovereign: Sacred Kingship & Sainthood in Islam. New York: Columbia University Press, 2012

Schimmel, Annemarie. The Empire of the Great Mughals: History, Art and Culture. London: Reaktion Book, 2004.

Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills This course will offer opportunities for building your skills in advanced visual and critical analysis, peer to peer communication, project organisation and independent research.

With a view towards the increasingly global nature of heritage and cultural institutions, you will build confidence in undertaking research within a global and cross-cultural context and in working with culturally and linguistically diverse source materials.
KeywordsSouth Asia,Mughal,East India Company,Delhi,workshop,album,painting,trade,court culture,empire
Contacts
Course organiserDr Yashaswini Chandra
Tel: (01316) 511782
Email: ychandra@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMs Susanne Neil
Tel:
Email: sneil@ed.ac.uk
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