ART AND VISUAL CULTURE OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD

This is one of the interdisciplinary courses (C) that are part of the bachelor's degree programme in Language, culture and society of Asia and Mediterranean Africa (Near and Middle East); it contributes to the student's training in the culture of the area by introducing her/him to the artistic and visual dimension. Students will acquire knowledge of important stages of artistic development in the region and of the main elements of visual culture, between tradition and contemporary life.

The student will acquire knowledge about key stages of the history of artistic production in the area and will understand basic themes and problems; he/she will acquire the essential tools to orientate him/herself in this context, and, if necessary, deepen the contemporary artistic and visual culture of the region.

The course does not require specific competences.

The course will illustrate significant stages in the process of formation and evolution of an artistic and visual culture in the Islamic world, leading the student to understand aspects and problems of the contemporary context. It will address the basic question of figurative representation in the Islamic world between tradition and contemporaneity. It will focus on significant chapters of artistic production from the formative period to modernity, between colonialism and orientalism, up to the contemporary world.

- Selected chapters from M. Hattstein and P. Delius, Islam: Arte e Architettura, Konemann 2001, pdf MOODLE platform (Alternatively, the student can choose another textbook - in English or in other languages, upon teacher's agreement)
- Christiane Gruber, Images of the Prophet Muhammad: Brief Thoughts on Some European-Islamic Encounters, in Seen and Unseen. Visual Cultures of Imperialism, edited by Sanaz Fotouhi and Esmaeil Zeiny, Leiden e Boston 2018, pp. 34-52 (pdf)
- Silvia Naef, L’iconicità dell’Islam contemporaneo: forme di rappresentazione e comunicazione, in R. Tottoli (a cura di), Islam, vol. III di Le religioni e il mondo moderno, Torino, 2009, pp. 642-664 (pdf)
- Robert Irwin, Islamic Art in context, New York, 1997, pp. 167-191 (pdf)

Specific texts on Contemporary art will be made available on the Moodle platform during the course.

At the oral examination the student will be required to illustrate the topics treated in the course, with the help of images.
The exam aims to verify that the student has acquired basic knowledge about the development of artistic production and visual culture of the Islamic world, and is able to understand problematic issues between tradition and present.
A complete list of the topics on which the exam questions will focus will be published upon completion of the course.

Frontal lessons will be illustrated with images; ppts of each lecture will be made available on the MOODLE e-learning platform.

Italian

oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "International cooperation" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development