Art H 330

Islamic Architecture and Art

Spring 2012
Dr. Madhuri Desai

Office: 237 Borland Building

Office Hours: Wednesdays, 2:30 PM – 4:30 PM, or by appointment
Telephone: (814) 865-4885
E-mail: msd13@psu.edu
Teaching Assistant: Laura Sivert (lbs152@psu.edu)

This course is a survey of Islamic Architecture and Art between the seventh and the
eighteenth centuries. We will cover a geographical area that extends from Northern
Africa and Spain in the west, to the Indian subcontinent in the east. While Islam was a
strong presence in these regions, artifacts that have been classified as “Islamic” also
reflect influences from other cultures. Architects, planners and artists in these regions
produced extraordinary works that included architecture, city planning, the arts of the
book and the applied arts. We will examine these works in their historical and cross-
cultural contexts.

Class times: 9:45 AM – 11:00 AM, Tuesdays and Thursdays

Classroom: 112 Borland Building

Required Texts

1. Jonathan Bloom and Sheila Blair, Islamic Arts (London: Phaidon Press Inc.,
2005).
2. Robert Hillenbrand, Islamic Art and Architecture (London: Thames and Hudson,
1998).
3. Partha Mitter, Indian Art (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001). Selections
from this text only will be posted on Angel.

Assignments and Examinations

Research Paper: The research paper must be at least 7-8 pages long (double-spaced) and
on a topic pertaining to any period or region of Islamic architecture or art. The paper
should answer a research question. Please do not merely turn in a description of events
and artifacts. The paper must be written using at least eight scholarly sources (books or
journal articles), and will account for 30% of the final grade. It is due in class on April
26th.

Paper Draft: A draft of the paper must be submitted and will account for 5% of the final
grade. The draft is due in class on April 5th.

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Quiz I will account for 10% of the final grade.

Mid-term Exam will account for 20% of the final grade.

Quiz II will account for 10% of the final grade.

Final Exam will account for 25% of the final grade.

Lecture Topics and Schedule

Week 1 (Jan 10/Jan 12)

Introduction
The Umayyads in Palestine and Syria
Reading: Hillenbrand, Chapter One

Week 2 (Jan 17/Jan 19)

The Abbasids in Iraq
The Umayyads in Spain
Reading: Hillenbrand, Chapter Two

Week 3 (Jan 24/Jan 26)

The Fatimids in Egypt
The Ghaznavids in Iran, Central Asia and Northern India
Readings: Hillenbrand, Chapter Three
Bloom and Blair, Chapters One and Two

Week 4 (Jan 31/Feb 2)

Review and Exercise I
Quiz I on 2/2/12

Week 5 (Feb 7/Feb 9)

The Zangids and Ayyubids in Iraq, Syria and Palestine
Reading: Hillenbrand, Chapters Four and Five

Week 6 (Feb 14/Feb 16)

The Ilkhanids in Central Asia and Iran
The Timurids in Central Asia and Iran
Reading: Hillenbrand, Chapter Eight

Week 7 (Feb 21/Feb 23)

The Mamluks in Egypt
Readings: Hillenbrand, Chapter Six
Bloom and Blair, Chapters Five and Six

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Week 8 (Feb 28/March 1)
Review and Exercise in Class
Mid-term Exam on 3/1/12

Week 9 (Spring Break)

Week 10 (March 13/March 15)

The Nasirids in Spain
Northern India under the Sultanates
Reading: Hillenbrand, Chapter Seven
Mitter, Chapter Five

Week 11 (March 20/March 22)

Anatolia under the Beyliks and Early Ottomans
The Ottomans
Reading: Hillenbrand, Chapter Ten

Week 12 (March 27/March 29)

The Ottomans
The Safavids
Readings: Hillenbrand, Chapter Nine

Week 13 (April 3/April 5)

The Safavids
The Mughals
Reading: Mitter, Chapter Six
Paper Draft due in class on 4/5/12

Week 14 (April 10/April 12)

Review and Exercise II
Quiz II on 4/12/12

Week 15 (April 17/April 19)

The Mughals
The Deccan Sultanates
Readings: Bloom and Blair, Chapters Nine and Ten

Week 16 (April 24/April 26)

The Mughals
Review and Exercise III
Final paper due in class on 4/26/12

Note to students with disabilities: Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into
the University's educational programs. If you have a disability-related need for
reasonable academic adjustments in this course, contact the Office for Disability

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Services, ODS located in room 116 Boucke Building at 814-863-1807(V/TTY). For
further information regarding ODS, please visit their web site at
www.equity.psu.edu/ods/ Instructors should be notified as early in the semester as
possible regarding the need for reasonable academic adjustments.

Academic Integrity: Academic integrity is a fundamental principle underlying all

scholarly work, and a necessity for the creation of an honest and positive learning
environment. Accordingly, adherence to the basic precepts of academic integrity is
expected in all student work. The dishonest representation of someone else’s work as
your own (i.e. cheating, plagiarism) will not be tolerated, nor will acts of deception or
falsification. Acknowledgment in your written work of information, points of view, and
quotes taken from other sources should always be made through appropriate references
(i.e. footnotes, bibliography). Violations of academic integrity will be dealt with in
accordance with the policies of the University.

Statement of Nondiscrimination: The Pennsylvania State University is committed to

the policy that all persons shall have equal access to programs, facilities, admission, and
employment without regard to personal characteristics not related to ability, performance,
or qualifications as determined by University policy or by state or federal authorities. It is
the policy of the University to maintain an academic and work environment free of
discrimination, including harassment. The Pennsylvania State University prohibits
discrimination and harassment against any person because of age, ancestry, color,
disability or handicap, national origin, race, religious creed, sex, sexual orientation, or
veteran status. Discrimination or harassment against faculty, staff, or students will not be
tolerated at The Pennsylvania State University. Direct all inquiries regarding the
nondiscrimination policy to the Affirmative Action Director, The Pennsylvania State
University, 328 Boucke Building, University Park, PA 16802-5901; Tel 814-865-4700/V,
814-863-1150/TTY.