ARCH 440 Masterworks of Medieval Architecture in East and West (3-0)3 -  ECTS: 4

ourse Description:
This course investigates masterworks of Islamic and Christian architecture in medieval age. A group of buildings selected as the foremost representative of their age and architectural type, are analyzed in terms of structural, formal and stylistic aspects. Each week, a masterwork is studied through related scholarly texts and instructor’s analysis by the use of power point presentation. The course is designed for the third and fourth year architecture students. Students from other departments might be accepted to the course on condition that they formerly attended art/architectural history survey courses and/or guided art history tours.
 
Course/Learning Objectives:
This course provides:

• Terminology and concepts on medieval architecture;
• Knowledge on cultural and historical contexts wherein architectural masterpieces were produced;
• Historians’ approach and theories on architecture;
• Factual background to understand and interpret architectural design methods in medieval age;
• Encounters and interactions among medieval architectural traditions in far-off locales.

• Point out formal, structural and symbolic components of a medieval masterpiece;
• Explain the role of architectural masterpieces in society and in the making of history;
• Demonstrate a working knowledge on the structural evolution, formal characteristics and conceptual background of selected medieval buildings;
• Describe architectural works;
• Analyze a building as the end-product of social, political, religious and economic systems;
• Read scholarly texts in architectural history;
• Relate interdisciplinary knowledge and architectural design.

Tasks:
One reading for each week, two assignments (the first assignment is a study of a selected building or group of buildings and the second assignment is a critical review of a scholarly paper), final exam, attendance: %70  (strictly controlled)

Grading:
Assignments: 30%; Final examination: 50%; Performance in class discussions and attendance: 20% 

Weekly Topics:
First Week: IntroductionSecond Week: Hagia Sophia Church
Reading: Chapters from Mainstone, 1988Third Week: The Dome of the Rock
Reading: Grabar, 1959Fourth Week: Damascus Great Mosque
Reading: Chapter from Ettinghausen, 1994Fifth Week: Cordoba Great Mosque      
Reading: Khoury, 1996Sixth Week: İsfahan Great Mosque
Reading: Chapters from Grabar, 1990Seventh Week: Gothic Cathedral: St. Denis        Reading: Chapters from Wilson, 1990Submission of the first assignmentEight Week: Alhambra Palace
Reading: Chapters from Grabar, 1978Ninth Week: Divriği Great Mosque and Hospital I: Architecture
Reading: Kuban, 1968Tenth Week: Divriği Great Mosque and Hospital II: Symbolism
Reading: Kuban, 1999; Peker, 1998Eleventh Week: Taj Mahal
Reading: Chapters from Leoshko, 1989 Twelfth Week: Süleymaniye Mosque
Reading: Necipoğlu-Kafadar, 1985Submission of the second assignment 

READINGS

* Ettinghausen, Richard and Grabar, Oleg, The Art and Architecture of Islam 650-1250. Nev Haven-London: Yale
University, 1994.
* Grabar, Oleg, "The Umayyad Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem,” Ars Orientalis, III (1959) pp33-
61.
* Grabar, Oleg, The Alhambra. Cambridge-Massachusettes: Harvard University, 1978.
* Grabar, Oleg, The Great Mosque of Isfahan. New York: New York University, 1990.
* Khoury, Nuha N.N., "The Meaning of the Great Mosque of Cordoba in the Tenth Century,”
Muqarnas, XIII (1996) pp80-98.
* Kuban, Doğan, "The Mosque and Hospital at Divriği and the Origin of Anatolian-Turkish
Architecture,” Anatolica, II (1968) pp122-29.
*Kuban Doğan, Divriği Mucizesi: Selçuklular Çağında İslam Bezeme Sanatı Üzerine bir Deneme. İstanbul: YKY,
1999 [English Translation: The Miracle of Divriği. İstanbul: YKY, 1999]
* Kuban, Doğan, “The Style of Sinan’s Domed Structures,” Muqarnas, IV (1987) pp72-95.
* Leoshko, Janice, “Mausoleum for an Empress,” in Pratapaditya Pal et. al., Romance of the Taj Mahal (New York:
Thames and Hudson, 1989) pp53-87.
*Mainstone, R. J., Hagia Sophia: Architecture, Structure and Liturgy of Justinian’s Great Church. New York:
Thames and Hudson, 1988.
* Necipoğlu-Kafadar, Gülru, "The Süleymaniye Complex in İstanbul: An Interpretation,” Muqarnas, III (1985) pp92-
117.
* Peker, A.U. "Ortaçağ Anadolu Mimarisinde Anlam,” Arkeoloji ve Sanat, XX/85, (1998), pp29-38.
* Wilson, Christopher, The Gothic Cathedral: The Architecture of the Great Church 1130-1530.
(London: Thames and Hudson, 1990).