Using Arabic Calligraphy to Learn Arabic Typography

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Using Arabic Calligraphy to Learn Arabic Typography INTERRELATED HISTORIES, PRACTICES, AND FORMS OF COMMUNICATION: USING ARABIC CALLIGRAPHY TO LEARN ARABIC TYPOGRAPHY Banan Ahmed Al-Ansari, BA, MFA Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS August 2015 APPROVED: Nadine Kalin, Co-Major Professor Nada Shabout, Co-Major Professor Adetty Pérez de Miles, Committee Member Denise Baxter, Chair of the Department of Art Education and Art History Greg Watts, Dean of the College of Visual Arts and Design Costas Tsatsoulis, Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School Al-Ansari, Banan Ahmed. Interrelated Histories, Practices, and Forms of Communication: Using Arabic Calligraphy to Learn Arabic Typography. Doctor of Philosophy (Art Education), August 2015, 419 pp., 95 figures, 33 tables, references, 217 titles. In this self-study inquiry, I studied my graphic design practice in a professional setting, focusing on my Arabic typographic skills and knowledge. My roles as researcher and design educator indivisibly intertwined throughout this research. I worked to understand the value of calligraphy in art and design education, highlighting its power as an art form while also emphasizing its pedagogical potentials. I utilized two theoretical approaches suited to investigating and understanding the Arabic letters as text and image, Ibn Arabi’s science of letters, or 'ilm al-hurûf, and semiotics. I applied my theoretical framework to three distinctive artworks to investigate their uses of the Arabic letters, contemplating their roles in modern and contemporary Arab art. Essential to my research was learning Arabic calligraphy through two approaches: 1) I attended a calligraphy workshop, and 2) I conducted three self-study experimentations. I analyzed my experience through visual representations, commentary, and narrative inquiry to assess Arabic calligraphy’s significance for graphic design education. As such, my experimentations confirmed Arabic calligraphy’s aesthetic and educational value. I employed my findings to create a contemporary Arabic typography curriculum suitable for university-level students. This curriculum is built on learning theories such as visual culture analysis, semiotics, constructivist theory, play principles, and critical thinking, aiming to situate Arabic calligraphy as a modern learning model significant for typography education. Finally, I constructed a basic course for Arabic typography to support students’ development of Arabic typography fluency. Copyright 2015 by Banan Ahmed Al-Ansari ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Nadine Kalin. Thank you for giving me the trust and space that I needed and for your continuous academic, intellectual, and emotional support throughout the process. Dr. Nada Shabout, thank you for your tremendous feedback and insights that enhanced the quality of this research. Dr. Adetty Pérez de Miles, thank you for your guidance and for helping me to become a better scholar. Dr. Terry Barrett, thank you for teaching me how to describe and interpret my art and design works. Thank you all for a memorable journey. I would like to acknowledge Jassim Mi’raj, who taught me the art of Arabic calligraphy and how to understand the nature of the Arabic alphabet. Pascal Zoghbi, for generously sharing your experience with Arabic typography, thank you. Additionally, I am greatly thankful to Kuwait University, for granting me a generous scholarship that supported me financially throughout my PhD work. I am looking forward to joining Kuwait University in my aspiration to enhance typography and graphic design education to the best it can be. Last but not least, I would not be here without the endless encouragement of my family, which I thank God daily for having. I am very blessed to have them around me, drawing support from their patience, understanding, and never-failing faith. It is with enormous pride and affection that I dedicate this dissertation to my mother, Maymouna, for her ongoing love and support, and to the memory my father, Ahmed Al-Ansari, who was a firm supporter through the seemingly endless years of studying in the United States. I offer a special thank you to my husband, Mohamed, for his cheerful involvement and his continued loving, intellectual support. I will always be indebted to you. And to my daughters, Janna and Lujain, who inspire me to be the best version of myself, my life would not be the same without your grace and love. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS............................................................................................................. iii LIST OF FIGURES.........................................................................................................................x LIST OF TABLES.........................................................................................................................xv CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................1 Prologue .................................................................................................................................1 Chapter Overview.......................................................................................................................2 Introduction.................................................................................................................................3 Purpose of the Study...................................................................................................................4 Justification of the Study ............................................................................................................5 Significance of the Study............................................................................................................9 Researcher’s Position in This Self-Study .................................................................................11 Brief Overview of the Study.....................................................................................................12 Theoretical Framework of the Study ........................................................................................13 Research Methodology .............................................................................................................15 Translating the Outcomes of Self-Study Research ..............................................................17 Background of the Study ..........................................................................................................18 Arabic Calligraphy in Art Education ...................................................................................19 Connections between Calligraphy and Typography ............................................................20 Typography Education.........................................................................................................22 Carrying Out this Self-Study Research.....................................................................................24 CHAPTER 2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...........................................................................28 Research Problem .....................................................................................................................28 Research Questions...................................................................................................................29 Discussion of Methodology......................................................................................................29 Research Participants................................................................................................................33 Data Collection Instruments .....................................................................................................34 Calligraphy Workshop .........................................................................................................34 Experimental Calligraphic and/or Typographic Art Projects ..............................................35 Commentary on Experimental Calligraphic and/or Typographic Projects..........................37 iv Interviews.............................................................................................................................38 Data Analysis Methods.............................................................................................................39 Visual Representations.........................................................................................................40 Narrative Inquiry..................................................................................................................40 Conceptual Framework.............................................................................................................42 Contexts of my Conceptual Framework ..............................................................................43 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................44 CHAPTER 3. THEORETICAL LENS FOR EXAMINING THE ARABIC ALPHABET..........45 'Ilm Al-Hurûf ............................................................................................................................45 Arabic Writing in Islamic Culture .......................................................................................46 Sufism ..................................................................................................................................46
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