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UCL INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY ARCL G0178/ ARCL0178A Themes and Debates In Islamic Archaeology and Heritage 2018-19 15 credits (or 20 credits) Turnitin Class ID: 3885701 Turnitin Password: IoA1819 (middle o is lower case) Deadlines for coursework for this course: Essay 1: Wednesday 7th November (returned by 19th November); Essay 2: Thursday 20th December; returned by 11th January) Co-ordinator: Corisande Fenwick Email: [email protected] Tel: 0207-679-4746 Room 502 Office hours, Thu 11am-1pm or after class. Please see the last page of this document for important information about submission and marking procedures, or links to the relevant webpages. 1 1. OVERVIEW Course description The history and heritage of the Islamic world has never been so relevant or misunderstood. This module provides a comparative overview of key debates in the archaeology of the Islamic world, with a particular focus on how and why they matter today. Major themes include the origins of the first Islamic states, the spread of Islam, iconoclasm, urbanism and monumentality, industrial and agricultural innovations and the politics of Islamic heritage. Throughout, we will take an explicitly comparative approach, emphasising the different regional trajectories of the Middle East, the Mediterranean, sub-Saharan Africa, central Asia and beyond. Week-by-week summary 1 3rd Oct The Islamic world: definitions and agendas 2 10th Oct Islam on Display: orientalism, colonialism and disciplinary baggage 3 17th Oct The Arab conquests and a new world order? 4 24th Oct Islam: a religion or a way of life? 5 31st Oct Islamic states and empires 9th Nov READING WEEK 6 14th Nov The Islamic City: a comparative perspective 7 21st Nov Islam and Daily life 8 28th Nov The Industrial and Green Revolutions 9 5th Dec Islam, iconoclasm and the image 10 12th Dec The Politics of Islamic Heritage BASIC TEXTS Basic Texts This is a list of historical works which provide excellent introductions to the different periods covered in the course. At the start of the course, students should at the very least read Kennedy 2016 to ensure that they have a basic understanding of the major historical developments in the Islamic world. Flood, F. B. and Necipoglu, G. 2017 A Companion to Islamic Art and Architecture. Oxford ONLINE Hillenbrand, R. 1999. Islamic Art and Architecture. London. MAIN ART HB 5 HIL Insoll, T. 1999. The Archaeology of Islam. Oxford. INST ARCH DBA 100 INS Irwin, R. 1997. ‘Ch 5 – Palace Life’ Islamic Art in Context. New York ART HB 5 IRW Kennedy, H. 2004 (2nd ed.) The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates, Edinburgh. MAIN HISTORY 53 D KEN; ONLINE Milwright, M. An Introduction to Islamic Archaeology. Edinburgh. (Overview of archaeology of the Islamic world). INST ARCH DBA 100 MIL; ONLINE Robinson, C. (ed.) The New Cambridge History of Islam. Volume 1: The Formation of the Islamic World, Sixth to Eleventh Centuries. Cambridge. (Very good historical essays on the early Islamic period) MAIN HISTORY 53 D CAM; ONLINE ACCESS Fairchild Ruggles, D. 2011. Islamic Art and Visual Culture: An Anthology of Sources. Oxford. ART HB 5 RUG Walmsley, A. Early Islamic Syria. London. INST ARCH DBD 100 WAL + EBOOK Ettinghausen, R., Grabar, O. and M. Jenkins-Madina 2001 (2nd. Ed.) The Art and Architecture of Islam 650-1250. New Haven. (An excellent, beautifully illustrated, book with detailed information about Islamic buildings and objects). BARTLETT N6260 .E88 2001 2 Some easy-to-read introductions to Islam and the Islamic world Bennison, A. K. 2009. The Great Caliphs: the golden age of the ‘Abbasid Empire. London INST ARCH DBA 200 BEN Cook, M. 2000. The Koran, a very short introduction. Oxford. HISTORY 53 D COO Donner, F. 2010. Muhammad and the Believers. Harvard (an important account of how Islam first evolved). HISTORY 53 D DON Kennedy, H. 2016. The Caliphate. London. HISTORY 53 D KEN Kennedy, H. 2007. The Great Arab Conquests. How the spread of Islam changed the world we live in. London INST ARCH DBA 200 KEN. (Introductory - a good narrative account of the conquests). Silverstein, A. 2010. Islamic history: A very short introduction. Oxford. HISTORY 53D SIL Reference Works: Brill Encyclopaedia of Islam. Leiden. MAIN REFERENCE CB 1c; ONLINE Kennedy, H. 2002. (2nd rev. ed.) An Historical Atlas of Islam. Leiden. ONLINE Petersen, A. 1996. Dictionary of Islamic architecture. London. BARTLETT NA380.P43 1996 Methods of assessment This course is assessed by means of: (a) One problem essay of 1000 words which contributes 25% to the final grade for the course. (b) One research essay of 3000 words which contributes 75% to the final grade for the course. For those taking G354A (20 units), the course is assessed by means of: a) One problem essay of 1000 words which contributes 20% to the final grade for the course. b) One research essay of 4000 words which contributes 80% to the final grade for the course. Teaching methods The course is taught through 1 two-hour introductory lecture and 9 two-hour seminars which have four or five weekly required readings, which students will be expected to have read, to be able fully to follow and actively to contribute to discussion. Each session will use applied case studies to address key theoretical issues in Islamic archaeology. The course is taught primarily through discussion rather than lecture, so reading for class is absolutely essential. Students will be asked to lead seminar discussions and make short presentations of case study material (non-examined) in certain weeks. Other learning materials will be made available via Moodle. Each seminar will conclude with the outline of preparatory reading and any other tasks proposed for the following week. Workload There are 20 hours of seminars for this course. Students undertake around 90 hours of reading for the course, plus 40 hours preparing for and producing the assessed work. This adds up to a total workload of 150 hours for the course. 3 2. AIMS, OBJECTIVES AND ASSESSMENT Aims The aims of this module are to: • To provide an advanced, inter-disciplinary training in Islamic archaeology and heritage • To introduce students to the most important current research questions and the main interpretative paradigms that have dominated the field. • To develop critical faculties both in debate and in written evaluation of current research (problems, method and theory, quality of evidence). • To engage students with the different forms of evidence (objects, monuments, texts) and to critically discuss their interpretative potential for the study region. • To examine how Islamic history and heritage is/ has been presented today to the public across the world, in the media, in museums and on sites. • To prepare students to undertake original research on topics in Islamic archaeology and heritage. Objectives On completion of this module the student will be able to: - demonstrate a good knowledge of major themes and debates in Islamic archaeology and heritage today - analyse and discuss critically key variables, models and theories for the transformations that took place in the early Islamic period. - engage with different forms of evidence and methodologies, and understand how to use them critically in class discussions and writing assessments. Learning Outcomes On successful completion of the course, students should be able to demonstrate: - Understanding and critical awareness of the different values of primary and secondary sources. - Written and oral skills in analysis and presentation. - Knowledge of methods and theories of archaeological and historical analysis, and be able to apply them to archaeological data. - Ability to conduct original research. Coursework Assessment tasks: This course is assessed by 4,000 words of coursework, divided into two essays, one of 1,000 words (contributing 25% to the overall course mark) and the other of 3,000 words (contributing 75% to the overall mark) – see below on word counts. If students are unclear about the nature of an assignment, they should contact the Course Co-ordinator, who will also be willing to discuss an outline of your approach to an assessment, provided this is planned suitably in advance of the submission date. Students are not permitted to re-write and re-submit essays in order to try to improve their marks. The nature of the assignment and possible approaches to it will be discussed in class, in advance of the submission deadline. The deadlines for submission of assessed work are: a) Article review essay 950-1050 words: Wednesday 7th November 2018 b) Research essay 2,850-3,150 words (ARCLG345A 3,800-4,200 words): Thursday 20th December 2018 Assignment 1. Object review 950-1050 words, 25% of course-mark (ARCLG354A: 950-1050 words, 20% of course-mark). Write a critical commentary of any object of your choice on display at a museum. 4 Your object can come from any museum collection of your choice providing it is from the “Islamic world”. Key collections are in the V&A Jameel Gallery and the BM Islamic galleries (Islamic objects are also found in other galleries – notably the Egyptian, Middle Eastern and coin rooms). The Petrie (UCL), the Brunei galleries at SOAS and the Horniman Museum also have good collections of Islamic material. Make sure to: o Describe and analyse your object carefully and succinctly (e.g. form, function, provenance, history of the object) § The nature and significance of the object; § The manner in which it/they are currently displayed; § How information is presented about the object and the Islamic world; § Any relevant social, cultural, political issues, past and present, relating to the chosen object. o Consider the display of the object in relation to debates about the collection and display of the Islamic world, and how it is presented to the public. o Make sure to include images of your chosen objects and if appropriate, suitable comparanda o Remember to back up what you say as specifically as possible & use the Harvard system, citing page numbers (e.g.
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