The following will give you an idea of the themes and topics that will be dealt with through the quarter. Lecture topics will no doubt change a bit but I shall attempt to keep any changes up to date on this page. At times I'll lecture ahead of your reading, at times I'll lecture behind. But it'll all get done.
Thursday, Sept. 25th - First meeting. General introduction to class. Sign-up for sections.
Readings: Irwin pp. 11-36 (Historical Background); Bloom & Blair, pp. 5-11 (Introduction).
Tues. Sept. 30th - The Late Roman world: Byzantium and Sasanid Persia.
Thurs. Oct. 2nd - Early history of Islam. The Prophet and history of the early Caliphate and Muslim expansion. The Hajj and the Kaaba in Mecca.
Readings: Irwin, 39-77 (The Islamic World & Secular and Religious Architecture); Blair & Bloom, 15-56 (The Rise of Islam & Early Architecture).
Tues. Oct. 7th - The Umayyads. Dome of the Rock, Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.
Thurs. Oct 9th - Umayyad Desert Palaces: Mshatta, Khirbat al-Mafjar, Quasair Amra. The Umayyads in Spain: Cordoba.
Readings: Irwin, 79-106 (Artistic Taste and Umayyad Palaces); Blair & Bloom, 59-98 (calligraphy and textiles).
Tues. Oct. 14th - The Abbasids in Iran, Iraq and Egypt: Baghdad, Samarra, Ukhaidir, Ibn Tulun.
Thurs. Oct. 16th - Aghlabid architecture in North Africa: Kairouan. First writing assignment given. Three page paper due in class Tuesday.
Readings: Irwin, 106-131 (Palace Life); Blair & Bloom, 101-127 (Ceramics and Metalwork).
Tues. Oct. 21st - Almoravids in Morocco. First paper due in class.
Thurs. Oct. 23rd - Midterm Exam. Includes in-class and take-home portions. The in-class will take about half an hour of class time. It will consist of a page of fill-in-the-blanks with terms from the Vocabulary sheets I gave you, and five slide IDs where you will need to identify the object, say what place it is in (city, building), name the patron (where applicable) and give the date. There will also be a short take-home portion assigned, and this will be due on Tuesday Oct. 28th in class. The rest of the class will be on the Mamluks and Crusader period in Syria, Palestine, and Egypt.
Readings: Irwin, 133-165 (Artistic workers-Ceramics and textiles); Blair & Bloom, 131-190 (architecture).
Tues. Oct. 28th - Special guest in class: Sufi master and scholar of Sufism Kabir Helminski has generously offered his time to speak on Rumi, Sufism, sprituality and art in Islam, and to answer questions you may have. Note that subsequent lectures have been moved down.
Thurs. Oct.30th - Nasrid Granada: The Alhambra.
Readings: Irwin, 193-211 ("The Mysterious Universe"); Blair & Bloom, 223-246 (textiles).
Tues. Nov. 4th - Special Issues: Orientalism.
Thurs. Nov. 6th - Early Eastern Empires: Ghaznavids and Ghurids. The Great and the Anatolian Seljuks.
Readings: Blair & Bloom, 193-220 and 331-360.
Tues. Nov. 11th - Holiday. Veteran's Day.
Thurs. Nov. 13th - The Timurids. Isfahan.
Readings: Blair & Bloom, 249-283.
Tues. Nov. 18th - Early sultans of Delhi. Pre- and Early Mughal Empire.
Thurs. Nov. 20th - Special Issues: Calligraphy and Miniature Painting.
Readings: Irwin, 167-191 (Calligraphy); Blair & Bloom, 193-220 (Calligraphy and Painting) & 331-360 (Manuscript Painting).
Tues. Nov. 25th - Special Issues: Calligraphy and Miniature Painting.
Thurs. Nov. 27th - Holiday. Thanksgiving long weekend.
Readings: Irwin, 213-257 ("Beyond the Frontiers of Islam" and "Western Visions of Islamic Art"); Blair & Bloom, 287-328 (The Great Empires).
Tues. Dec. 2nd - Late Mughal art in India. Agra, Delhi.
Thurs. Dec 4th - Last class. The Turkish Selcuks and Ottomans.
Our final exam is scheduled for Thursday December 11th from noon to 3:00 pm in our regular classroom. Bring one large blue book.
