Universität Wien

080102 PS Case Study II/III: Ecology and Nature in Islamic Architecture: Gardens, Windtowers and Canals (2023W)

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 8 - Kunstgeschichte und Europäische Ethnologie
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

The seminar will not take place on the 19th of October.

  • Thursday 05.10. 10:45 - 12:15 Seminarraum 3 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte UniCampus Hof 9 3F-EG-25
  • Thursday 12.10. 10:45 - 12:15 Seminarraum 3 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte UniCampus Hof 9 3F-EG-25
  • Thursday 09.11. 10:45 - 12:15 Seminarraum 3 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte UniCampus Hof 9 3F-EG-25
  • Thursday 16.11. 10:45 - 12:15 Seminarraum 3 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte UniCampus Hof 9 3F-EG-25
  • Thursday 23.11. 10:45 - 12:15 Seminarraum 3 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte UniCampus Hof 9 3F-EG-25
  • Thursday 30.11. 10:45 - 12:15 Seminarraum 3 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte UniCampus Hof 9 3F-EG-25
  • Thursday 07.12. 10:45 - 12:15 Seminarraum 3 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte UniCampus Hof 9 3F-EG-25
  • Thursday 14.12. 10:45 - 12:15 Seminarraum 3 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte UniCampus Hof 9 3F-EG-25
  • Thursday 11.01. 10:45 - 12:15 Seminarraum 3 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte UniCampus Hof 9 3F-EG-25
  • Thursday 18.01. 09:00 - 12:15 Seminarraum 3 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte UniCampus Hof 9 3F-EG-25
  • Thursday 25.01. 09:00 - 12:15 Seminarraum 3 d. Inst. f. Kunstgeschichte UniCampus Hof 9 3F-EG-25

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

What does nature mean and who owns it? Within a given ecosystem, what is the relation between government, architecture, and nature? What did justice have to do with architecture and ecology- for instance in dividing the scarce water resources in arid desert lands?

This seminar looks at the relation of nature and society through the study of architecture with a focus on the Islamic world. Through case studies ranging from Mughal India to Nasrid Spain to 19th century Ottoman Istanbul, we will discuss the form, function and longevity of architectural structures meant to tame, embellish, and foster nature by creating landscapes. Architecture in this case is broadly defined and the scope of this seminar ranges from imperial infrastructure projects such as the Alhambra gardens in Granada, to water canals in Iran, from the writings of Ibn Khaldun on the foundation of a just society, the textual descriptions of the legendary Sassanian gardens to traveler’s accounts of Ottoman and Timurid gardens.

Through this seminar students will be introduced to the present “ecological turn” in scholarship, which questions our own role within a rapidly changing eco system. We will study the relation between nature and architecture in a historical context, through the lens of writers, poets, lawmakers and texts like the Quran, travelogues, epigraphy, and court chronicles. The students will learn how to situate historical Islamic architecture within the ongoing global discourse on the changing parameters of ecology in the twenty-first century.

Assessment and permitted materials

- aktive Beteiligung an Diskussionen
- Referat und Präsentation
- Vertiefung in Form einer schriftlichen Hausarbeit (15.000-20.000 Zeichen Fließtext)
- Mit der Anmeldung zu dieser LV stimmen Sie zu, dass die automatisierte Plagiatsprüfungs-Software Turnitin alle von Ihnen in moodle eingereichten schriftlichen Teilleistungen prüft.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Mindestanforderung:
- Anwesenheitspflicht. Bei Absenz wegen Krankheit oder familiärer Ausnahmesituation ist ein schriftlicher Nachweis vorzulegen.
- Für einen positiven Abschluss der Lehrveranstaltung müssen alle Teilleistungen erbracht werden.
- Seminararbeit: Zur Sicherung der guten wissenschaftlichen Praxis kann der/die Lehrveranstaltungsleiter/in Studierende zu einem notenrelevanten Gespräch nach Abgabe der Arbeit einladen, welches positiv zu absolvieren ist.

Beurteilungsmaßstab:
- Online Journal 20%
- aktive Beteiligung an Diskussionen 10%
- Bibliographie, Kurzreferat, Referat und Handout 30 %
- Vertiefung in Form einer schriftlichen Hausarbeit 40%

Notenschlüssel:
1 (sehr gut) 100-90 Punkte; 2 (gut) 89-81 Punkte; 3 (befriedigend) 80-71 Punkte; 4 (genügend) 70-61 Punkte; 5 (nicht genügend) 60-0 Punkte

Examination topics

Prüfungsstoff ist der Inhalt der Lehrveranstaltung.

Reading list

Leatherbarrow, David. “Is Landscape Architecture?” Arq: Architectural Research Quarterly, vol. 15, no. 3, 2011, pp. 208–215.,

Trottier, Julie., and Paul Slack. Managing Water Resources, Past and Present. Oxford University Press, 2005.

Ruggles, D. Fairchild. “From Garden to Landscape: Lessons from the Taj and the Alhambra.” International Journal of Islamic Architecture, vol. 10, no. 1, 2021, pp. 89–98.

Türker, Denİz. “'I Don't Want Orange Trees, I Want Something That Others Don't Have': Ottoman Head-Gardeners after Mahmud II.” International Journal of Islamic Architecture, vol. 4, no. 2, 2015, pp. 257–85.

Wescoat, James L., and Symposium Mughal Gardens: Sources, Representations, Places, Prospects 1992 Washington, DC. Mughal Gardens : Sources, Places, Representations and Prospects ; [Dumbarton Oaks Colloquium on the History of Landscape Architecture XVI]. Dumbarton Oaks Res., 1996.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Fr 19.01.2024 10:25