Touching Waves: Textiles and Architecture in the Islamic World

3 Credits.

Textiles and architecture have played vital roles in the visual and material cultures of the Islamic world. However, the buildings have received far more attention from historians of art than textiles have. But what if we shift our lens and consider these two mediums together? Integrating these two subfields of Islamic art sheds light on several artistic, cultural, social, and economic aspects of the Islamic world. In this course, through such an integrative approach, we will have the opportunity to learn about a range of spaces, senses, objects, architecture, and human activities experienced in Islamic lands from the medieval period, starting in the ninth century, to the modern era of the nineteenth century. We will also become acquainted with the interplay of various artistic traditions and mediums such as carpets, manuscripts, paintings, tilework, and photography. What if we imagine the Alhambra Palace with its original textiles and curtains moving with the wind, creating a rhythm with the sound of its fountains and garden? What does the global trade of Persian, Ottoman, and Indian textiles reveal about our interconnected past? Why did European painters depict “Oriental” carpets in their work? Through this course, students will have a hands-on experience by studying textiles and other artworks in local collections such as the Johns Hopkins Archaeological Museum, the Walters Art Museum, and the Textile Museum, as well as publications and photographic albums of world’s fairs in Johns Hopkins’ own Special Collections.