Islamic Art in Four Objects: Central Asian Ikat, Egyptian Rugs, South Asian Prints, and More

Class Description

What is “Islamic art”? What does it have to do with Islam and Muslims? How have museums shaped the field of Islamic art? How are artists engaging with the term and the canon today? In four weeks, this class will walk students through the basics of Islamic art: each week, we will closely look at an iconic object from the history of art from the Muslim world: Ikat textiles from Central Asia, plush rugs from Mamluk Egypt, West African Qur’ans, and South Asian prints. However, we will also question the art historical canon and use these ‘anchor objects’ as a launchpad to explore other objects and themes. We will also interrogate why religion is so heavily associated with Islamic art, interrogating the field of Islamic art through an anti-racist and anti-Islamophobia lens. Students will learn to closely look at Islamic art and also how to explore digital databases.

Nadirah Mansour (she/her/hers) is a curator, educator, historian and writer currently serving as gallery director and visiting assistant professor of art history at Lake Forest College. She previously was assistant curator of Islamic art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

All virtual classes are recorded and made available to participants registered in the class. These recordings are password-protected and available for up to two weeks after the class ends.

What to Expect

Format: Virtual 

Class Capacity: 24 

Class Style: Mix of lecture and discussion; participation encouraged 

Materials List

Required

• Digital Course Packet

First Assignment

• Mawejje, J. S. (2023), “Introduction to early Quran manuscripts in West Africa,” Uluslararası Sosyal Bilimler ve Eğitim Dergisi – USBED 5(9), 371-396

• Selections from Caravans of Gold, 241-256

A Brief Syllabus

1. West African Qur’ans (or “Who gets to be ‘Islamic’?”)
2. Mamluk Rugs (or “Empire and the Museum”)
3. Central Asian Ikat (or “Is Material Culture Art?”)
4. South Asian Prints (“What is the ‘image debate’?”)

Cost and Registration

4 Sessions, $175 ($157.50 for Newberry members, seniors, and students). Learn about becoming a member.

We offer our classes at three different price options: Regular ($175), Community Supported ($160), and Sponsor ($190). Following the models of other institutions, we want to ensure that our classes are accessible to a wider audience while continuing to support our instructors. You may choose the price that best fits your situation when registering through Learning Stream.

To register multiple people for this class, please go through the course calendar in Learning Stream, our registration platform. When you select the course and register, you’ll be prompted to add another registrant.

Having trouble signing up? Take a look at our step-by-step guide to registration by clicking here.

The views and opinions expressed in this class and/or by the instructor are not necessarily representative of the Newberry. We aim to ensure that in our classes, participants can have respectful disagreement to foster critical thinking. This is a space to challenge and expand our own worldviews to work towards better understanding and appreciating humanity.

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