Islamic Landscapes: Cities, Frontiers & Monuments: Student Postings

Use this page to post anything that you feel may be of interest to the class.

This might be a news item, a resource, an idea from the readings, an upcoming exhibition etc.

For instance, have a look at this news story from the BBC on the fossilized landscapes of 300 million years ago. The notion of seeing the world from the bottom up should cause us to pay attention to ideas of perspective.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7604721.stm

Posted at Sep 09/2008 01:57PM:
ian: Some events coming this fall to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston:

Landscape Visions Lecture — Saturday, October 25, 1:30pm

The Islamic Landscape: Visions of al-Andalus Free with museum admission Exploring the development of palace gardens in Islamic Spain and how these gardens related to environment, water, and buildings. Dede Ruggles will also explore the use of light and sound and visual illusion in Islamic gardens.

(We are reading her book)

Landscape Visions Lecture —November 15, 1:30pm

Free with museum admission

Al Azhar is Cairo’s newest park, developed by the Aga Kahn Trust for Culture along the historic city wall. This centuries-old area, once used for dumping, is now reclaimed as open space.

(we will talk a little bit about this project)

Posted at Sep 11/2008 09:32AM:
ian: Here is an interesting article about the worlds largest restaurant that happens to be in Damascus. One for our list of culinary landscapes. What might Ibn Battuta say about something like this.

Posted at Sep 17/2008 05:34PM:
Tyler: Rory Stewart interview on the Watson Insitute website.

http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Watson_Institute/Open_Source/RadioOpenSource-Rory_Stewart.mp3

Posted at Sep 17/2008 05:49PM:
Tyler: Buddha statue find at Afghan site

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7604519.stm

Evie: American Gods
(since I can't put the whole book up here, a wikipedia summary will have to do for now)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Gods

Adam: Red Mars

While we're sharing fiction- I read a book about the colonization of Mars (the first in a trilogy; I'm still working on the rest of it) where Islam plays a siginficant role in how some of the characters relate to the new land and one another. It's called Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson, if anyone wants to check it out.

Posted at Sep 30/2008 11:13AM:
Tyler: Palin Brushing Up On Foreign Policy At Epcot

http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/palin_brushing_up_on

Posted at Oct 05/2008 03:16PM:
Tyler: Istanbul skyline gets woman's touch

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7636142.stm

Evie: A different sort of landscape:

http://www.onasphalt.com/about/index.html

Posted at Nov 25/2008 12:10PM:
tess: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/24/arts/design/24muse.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=islamic%20art%20museum&st=cse