Cultural Heritage in the Near and Middle East, and in Africa

MICHELINA DI CESARE

The aim of the course is to deepen the methods and knowledge of the discipline, in a wide chronological span from the 7th to the 13th century and in the vast area of the territories subject to Islam, starting from the region of its birth, i.e. the Arabian Peninsula, up to the most eastern (India and Central Asia) and western (Maghreb, Spain and Sicily) offshoots.

After attending the course, students will have acquired: a knowledge of the main problems and research prospects concerning early Islamic urban planning, architecture and artistic forms; the ability to analyse sites, buildings and artefacts dating to the early Islamic period and to insert them into their specific chronological, geographical and cultural contexts; the capacity to pursue research in the field of Islamic Archaeology and History of Architecture, and communicate its results.

None.---------------------------------------

The course will present the architectural typologies and artistic forms developed in the dar al-Islam between the 7th and the 11th centuries through the analysis of relevant sites and monuments. It will also include a historical and cultural introduction to the Islamic civilization.

Lo Jacono, Islamismo, Firenze-Milano 2019 (an English translation will be provided)
Ettinghausen, Grabar, Jenkins Medina, Islamic Art and Architecture, 650-1250, New Haven-London 2001, pp. 1-130, 186-213

Lo Jacono, Islamismo, Firenze-Milano 2019
Ettinghausen, Grabar, Jenkins Medina, Islamic Art and Architecture, 650-1250, New Haven-London 2001

Lectures and discussions.

Recommended.

Attending students: 40% attendance (75% of the course at least); 60 % oral exam.
Non-attending students: 100% oral exam.

Most recurring topics:
The Pillars of Islam; the Haram of Mecca and the Ka'ba; the Mosque of the Prophet in Medina; the Haram of Jerusalem and the Dome of the Rock.

• Introduction to Islam
  • Books: Lo Jacono; Notes taken in the classroom


• Historical and cultural setting 
  • Books: Lo Jacono; Notes taken in the classroom


• Arts and architecture at the time of the Prophet Muhammad
  • Books: Ettinghausen-Grabar-Jenkins Madina; Notes taken in the classroom


• Early
  Islamic settlements 
  • Books: Ettinghausen-Grabar-Jenkins Madina; Notes taken in the classroom


• Material
  culture in the Umayyad period 
  • Books: Ettinghausen-Grabar-Jenkins Madina; Notes taken in the classroom


• Material culture in the Early Abbasid period 
  • Books: Ettinghausen-Grabar-Jenkins Madina; Notes taken in the classroom