Islamic Art
Discover how Islamic art transforms artistic pursuit into a spiritual path toward the sacred through calligraphy, architecture, music, and symbolism.
A syllabus, not a playlist.
Description
This course offers an introduction to the spiritual, intellectual, and aesthetic foundations of Islamic art. Rather than approaching Islamic art merely as a historical phenomenon, the course explores how the Islamic artistic tradition is rooted in a sacred vision of reality encompassing unity, contemplation, and inner knowledge. Students will examine major forms of Islamic art, including calligraphy, architecture, poetry, music, painting, and the decorative arts, and consider how each reflects deeper metaphysical and spiritual principles. The course also explores how the rediscovery of the sacred roots of art in the Islamic tradition can open new ways of thinking about beauty, creativity, and unity in the contemporary world.
Texts
Nasr, Islamic Art and Spirituality (and other texts)
Suggested Readings
Titus Burckhardt, Art of Islam: Language and Meaning
Titus Burckhardt, Sacred Art in East and West
Martin Lings, The Quranic Art of Calligraphy and Illumination
Schedule of Meetings
September 17
What is Islamic Art?: Revelation and the Sacred Foundations of Islamic Art
Readings: Nasr, Islamic Art and Spirituality, ix–16.
September 24
The Sacred Word (visual dimension): Calligraphy and Sacred Geometry
Readings: Nasr, Islamic Art and Spirituality, 17–26.
October 1
Poetry, Music, and the Language of the Soul
Readings: Nasr, Islamic Art and Spirituality, 87–97; 151–162.
October 8
Painting, Imagination, and the Concept of Space
Readings: Nasr, Islamic Art and Spirituality, 177–184.
October 15
Sufism, Symbolism, and the Inner Meaning of Beauty
Readings: Nasr, The Garden of Truth, 60–80.
October 22
Islamic Architecture and Contemporary Urban Problems
Readings: Nasr, The Principles of Islamic Architecture and Contemporary Urban Problems.”
October 29
Tradition, Modernity, and the Crisis of Art in the Contemporary Islamic World
Readings: Nasr, Islamic Art and Spirituality, 195–202; Knowledge and the Sacred, selections.
A working command of the vocabulary of Islamic metaphysics — wujūd, māhiyya, the gradation of being — used precisely, not loosely.
The capacity to read primary texts of Ibn Sīnā and Mullā Ṣadrā with comprehension rather than reverence alone.
An understanding of why the tradition treats metaphysics as the science of realities — and what that claim asks of the knower.
Direct exchange with Professor Nasr in open Q&A after every session — the part no book can replace.
Seyyed Hossein Nasr is one of the most influential Muslim philosophers of the modern period. His writings on Islamic philosophy, Sufism, comparative religion, sacred knowledge, Islamic art, and the relationship between science and spirituality have shaped contemporary scholarship across numerous disciplines. The author of more than sixty books and hundreds of articles translated into many languages, Professor Nasr has played a pivotal role in the revival and global dissemination of the Islamic intellectual tradition. At Tokat, Professor Nasr guides students through the enduring questions of metaphysics, spirituality, and the nature of reality in Islamic thought.
