New Art History Course Offering Fall 2011
ArtH 264 Islam from Spain to Russia and China: Art, Philosophy, and Politics in the Medieval World
Mosque, Cordoba, Spain
Ali Humayun Akhtar
T Th 4:40-6:00 PM
This course examines the encounter of Islam with cultures and civilizations from Spain to Russia and China 800-1750 by exploring the history of art, architecture, and material culture. The course examines specifically the political and philosophical dimensions of Islamic art in the pre-modern world in order to analyze more closely categories like the “West,” the “Middle East,” and the “Far East.” To what extent does the art and politics of the pre-modern world allow us to define these geographic categories as distinct cultural regions with clear intellectual borders? Can we consider additional models of historiography that extend beyond paradigms like “The West and the Islamic World” or “Imperial Russia and the Islamic World”? How does our understanding of these paradigms change when we think in terms of “trans-Mediterranean” and “trans-Caspian” artistic and political exchange?
This course fulfills the Ancient through Medieval requirement or the non-Western requirement. Art History students who are interested should contact Professor Akhtar immediately by e-mail.
