| Unit name | The Paradise and Islamic Garden |
|---|---|
| Unit code | ARCHM0109 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Emeritus Professor. Mowl |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of Anthropology and Archaeology |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
The unit examines the development of the Islamic garden and its relationship to ideas about the paradise garden. Connections exist between early paradise myths, Jewish and Christian ideas of paradise, and some of the first known garden sites in Mesopotamia and Persia. The quadripartite Persian paradise garden was a prototype for the Islamic garden. The architectural and natural features of this kind of garden were partly a response to Koranic descriptions of paradise, and partly a direct result of geographical and climatic conditions. Although the meaning of these gardens changed according to cultural setting with the spread of Islam, a unity of style made for an enduring and distinctive quality.
Aims:
The unit is designed to make students aware of the distinguishing features of the Islamic garden, and of how sites and specific designs relate to literary and scientific ideas. Where site evidence exists, students will consider it alongside historical and art-historical sources.
At the completion of the unit, students will have understood how traditional Islamic architecture defined space within the garden. Students will be encouraged to explore this type of garden architecture in relation to Western ideas about paradise and enclosure, as well as to contemporary ideas about definitions of garden space.
Seminars (2 hours).
Assessed essay (3,500 words).
