07042 - Islamic Archaeology and Art History

Learning outcomes

The course concerns the study of archaeological excavations, artistic and architectural heritage, epigraphic remains, and material culture across the vast area from the Atlantic to China, where Islam spread or with which it interacted, from its origins to the modern age. These studies are conducted according to the methodologies and techniques of archaeology and art history. Particular attention is also devoted to commercial and migratory phenomena, which played a crucial role in the formation, circulation, and transformation of the artistic, architectural, and material traditions of the various territories involved. By the end of the course, students will be familiar with the principal themes of the architectural and artistic culture of the Islamic world, addressed through a monographic approach and supported by an introduction to the fundamental knowledge of the discipline.

Course contents

Cities, Trade Networks, and Material Culture in the Mediterranean between the 7th and 13th Centuries

The course examines the major historical, cultural, and artistic transformations that shaped Western Asia and the Mediterranean between the 7th and 13th centuries.

Drawing on a selection of case studies, the course adopts an interdisciplinary perspective, bringing archaeology, art history, and the study of material culture into dialogue. Cities, monumental complexes, craft production, and exchange networks will be examined, tracing their development from the Umayyad period through the Abbasid era and into the subsequent rise of some of the so-called non-caliphal dynasties.

Particular attention will be given to the circulation of goods, technologies, and models of ceramic production, as well as to the relationships between local production, imports, imitation, and processes of innovation. The initial lessons of the course will be devoted to an introduction that discusses the formative process of the Islamic culture and its related society.

Readings/Bibliography

Programme for attending students:

Scerrato Umberto, Grandi monumenti. Islam, Milano 1972, pp. 8-55.

Ettinghausen Richard, Grabar Oleg, Jenkins-Madina Marilyn, The Art and Architecture of Islam 650-1250, Mapin Publishing/Yale University Press, Ahmedabad/New Haven-London 2001, pp. 1-73, 78-101.

Fehervari Geza, La ceramica islamica, Milano 1985, pp. 9-33, 226-228, 231.

Hallett Jessica, “A Port of the Sea, Emporium of the Land, and Place of Manufacture: Basra as a Center of Mobility and Innovation in Ceramics in the Abbasid Period”, in R. Dalal, S. Roberts, J. Sokoly (eds.), The Seas and the Mobility of Islamic Art (The Biennial Hamad bin Khalifa Symposium on Islamic Art), Yale University Press, New Haven-London 2021, pp. 120-141.

Molinari Alessandra, “La ceramica siciliana di età islamica tra interpretazione etnica e socio-economica”, in P. Pensabene (a cura di), Piazza Armerina. Villa del Casale e la Sicilia tra Tardoantico e Medioevo, L’Erma di Bretschneider, Roma 2010, pp. 197-228.

Nef Annliese, “Islamic Palermo and the dār al-Islām: Politics, Society and the Economy, from the Mid-Ninth to the Mid-Eleventh Century”, in Ead. (ed.), A Companion to Medieval Palermo: The History of a Mediterranean City from 600 to 1500, Brill, Leiden-Boston 2013, pp. 39-59.

Navarro Palazón Julio, Jiménez Castillo Pedro, “Materiales y técnicas constructivas en la Murcia andalusí (siglos X-XIII)”, Arqueología de la Arquitectura, 8, 2011, pp. 85-120.

Navarro Palazón Julio, Jiménez Castillo Pedro, “Arquitectura mardanisí”, in R. López Guzmán (a cura di), La arquitectura del Islam occidental, Lunwerg, Barcelona 1995, pp. 117-137.

Programme for not-attending students:

Scerrato Umberto, Grandi monumenti. Islam, Milano 1972, pp. 8-55.

Ettinghausen Richard, Grabar Oleg, Jenkins-Madina Marilyn, The Art and Architecture of Islam 650-1250, Mapin Publishing/Yale University Press, Ahmedabad/New Haven-London 2001, pp. 1-73, 78-101.

Fehervari Geza, La ceramica islamica, Milano 1985, pp. 9-33, 226-228, 231.

Hallett Jessica, “A Port of the Sea, Emporium of the Land, and Place of Manufacture: Basra as a Center of Mobility and Innovation in Ceramics in the Abbasid Period”, in R. Dalal, S. Roberts, J. Sokoly (eds.), The Seas and the Mobility of Islamic Art (The Biennial Hamad bin Khalifa Symposium on Islamic Art), Yale University Press, New Haven-London 2021, pp. 120-141.

Molinari Alessandra, “La ceramica siciliana di età islamica tra interpretazione etnica e socio-economica”, in P. Pensabene (a cura di), Piazza Armerina. Villa del Casale e la Sicilia tra Tardoantico e Medioevo, L’Erma di Bretschneider, Roma 2010, pp. 197-228.

Nef Annliese, “Islamic Palermo and the dār al-Islām: Politics, Society and the Economy, from the Mid-Ninth to the Mid-Eleventh Century”, in Ead. (ed.), A Companion to Medieval Palermo: The History of a Mediterranean City from 600 to 1500, Brill, Leiden-Boston 2013, pp. 39-59.

Navarro Palazón Julio, Jiménez Castillo Pedro, “Materiales y técnicas constructivas en la Murcia andalusí (siglos X-XIII)”, Arqueología de la Arquitectura, 8, 2011, pp. 85-120.

Navarro Palazón Julio, Jiménez Castillo Pedro, “Arquitectura mardanisí”, in R. López Guzmán (a cura di), La arquitectura del Islam occidental, Lunwerg, Barcelona 1995, pp. 117-137.

Fenwick Corisande, Early Islamic North Africa: A New Perspective, Bloomsbury Academic, London-New York 2020, cap. 2, pp. 31-52; cap. 5, pp. 105-128.

Grabar Oleg, “L’archeologia islamica”, in Il Mondo dell’Archeologia, Istituto dell’Enciclopedia Italiana, Roma 2002

Strika Vincenzo, Stasolla Francesca Romana, “Le vie, i luoghi, i mezzi di scambio e di contatto. Mondo islamico”, in Il Mondo dell’Archeologia, Istituto dell’Enciclopedia Italiana, Roma 2002

Recommended reading (but not required for the oral exam):

Capezzone Leonardo, Medioevo arabo. Una storia dell’Islam medievale (VII-XV secolo), Mondadori Università, Milano 2016.

Teaching methods

Lectures feature PowerPoint presentations (when possible, also made available on the Virtuale platform).

The course aims to introduce the student to the main problems of the proposed research theme. Emphasis is placed on the methodological research approach in order to stimulate the student's critical reflection.

In-depth study texts, online resources, pertinent conferences and exhibitions are pointed out.

Assessment methods

The examination consists of an oral interview to assess the critical and methodological skills acquired by the student and the acquisition of basic knowledge in the field of Islamic archaeology.

In addition to mastering the contents, the ability to synthesise and analyse archaeological themes and problems and express oneself adequately and in language appropriate to the subject matter will be assessed.

The complete acquisition of these skills and the achievement of a comprehensive understanding of the subject will be assessed with marks of excellence (27-30 with distinction).

A predominantly mnemonic acquisition of the course subject, with verbal expression and logical skills not entirely satisfactory, will be assessed with fair grades (24-26).

A minimal acquisition of the course subject, with inadequate verbal expression and logical abilities, will be assessed with marks just above sufficient (18-24).

A minimal acquisition of the course subject, verbal expression, and inadequate logical ability will be graded as insufficient.

Teaching tools

Projection of images and, when possible, distribution of teaching material in pdf format.

Students who are affected by learning disability (DSA) and in need of special strategies to compensate it, are kindly requested to contact the Teacher, in order to be referred to the colleagues in charge and get proper advice and instructions.

Office hours

See the website of Serenella Mancini