Islamic art course gives Middle Eastern perspective through artwork
Students looking for a different perspective on Islam will be able to take a more artistic view this fall.
The Art Department will offer ART 397E: Islamic Art this fall. Instructor Scott de Brestian will teach the class.
"He has taught this in the past and had great success with it," said Assistant art history Professor Rachel Barron-Duncan. "We're really excited to be offering it and I think it’s a great time to be offering it."
De Brestian was drawn into the study of Islamic art through his study of Roman Culture, specifically as it entered Spain, Barron-Duncan said. He has studied post-Roman Islamic cultures.
"His research is very much about local cultures and their kind of reaction to and differentiation from the Roman Culture when it entered Spain," she said.
The department was looking for a greek, roman or renaissance specialist when they hired de Brestian, Barron-Duncan said. The department is excited about offering this course, she said.
She said she thinks students will be excited to see the increase in diversity in the courses offered.
This course will be open to students from other disciplines, Barron-Duncan said, including religion and history, and anyone who is interested in Islam.
"If this course goes well we can see (making it permanent),” she said. "This might end up going into the rotation if there is a good response.”
Art majors will be able to use the course to fulfill a core-five requirement, Barron-Duncan said.
If departments want to add class offerings, it is up to the individual department, said Phil Squattrito, professor of chemistry and Academic Senate president.
"In most cases, individual academic departments ... decide whether they're going to offer a new course," he said. "Generally, it's from the ground up"
