ARTT 288 Middle Eastern Art and Architecture: Islam to Present

In this survey of Middle Eastern art, students will investigate an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the art and culture of the Middle East from the rise of Islam to the present. The primary focus of the course will be on the art and culture of the Arab States, Egypt, Central Asia, Armenia, Iran, Israel, and Turkey. This course will provide a broad knowledge of the Middle Eastern art history through cultural and philosophical context of this diverse region. It also will address the remarkable ethnic mixture of the population in this region that has influenced the field of art and architecture for centuries. Areas of focus will include visual art as is relates to philosophy, history and literature in the Middle Eastern cultures. Also, the students will examine the historical and political significance of the contemporary art that addresses social, gender and cultural changes in the region and its impact on our global culture.

Credits

3

Prerequisite

Eligible to enroll in ENGL 121

Hours Weekly

3 hours weekly

Course Objectives

  1. 1. Pose and address questions related to the social and cultural settings of the region through
    the study of the Middle Eastern Art to examine the humanistic expression and its context.
  2. 2. Incorporate innovation, risk-taking, and creativity into the analysis of how individual artists
    and the art of the Middle East reflected and foreshadowed a changing society, affecting
    ethnic, religious, and geographical boundaries.
  3. 3. Identify and apply critical theories and concepts related to enduring and contemporary
    issues of aesthetics and creativity behind the methodology of the Art of the Middle East in
    historical and contemporary settings, and the innovative and creative ways that has brought
    together people of various ethnicity and cultural differences.
  4. 4. Assess, reflect on, and critically analyze the role of the art of the Middle East, not only in the
    region, but also in a global setting, and how its aesthetics and creativity have illuminated the
    condition of humanistic expression in search of meaning.

Course Objectives

  1. 1. Pose and address questions related to the social and cultural settings of the region through
    the study of the Middle Eastern Art to examine the humanistic expression and its context.
  2. 2. Incorporate innovation, risk-taking, and creativity into the analysis of how individual artists
    and the art of the Middle East reflected and foreshadowed a changing society, affecting
    ethnic, religious, and geographical boundaries.
  3. 3. Identify and apply critical theories and concepts related to enduring and contemporary
    issues of aesthetics and creativity behind the methodology of the Art of the Middle East in
    historical and contemporary settings, and the innovative and creative ways that has brought
    together people of various ethnicity and cultural differences.
  4. 4. Assess, reflect on, and critically analyze the role of the art of the Middle East, not only in the
    region, but also in a global setting, and how its aesthetics and creativity have illuminated the
    condition of humanistic expression in search of meaning.