Overview

The Mutaz and Rada Sawwaf MA in Islamic Art and Architecture supports the Lebanese American University’s core mission, vision and values by establishing a program that expands students’ awareness of their history, culture and artistic heritage. The program will initiate students to contemporary methods of inquiry and research in the field of art history, expanding their knowledge of the architectural and artistic heritage of the region.

This program is a part of the general drive to establish graduate programs in specific fields of interest, and the initiative of the School of Architecture & Design to develop expertise in selective areas of graduate studies. The program will benefit from the rich Umayyad, Mamluk, and Ottoman architecture in Lebanon and the region, which would form the basic and immediate material for research and study.

Curriculum

YEAR ONE

Spring

• IAA711 Graduate Survey of Islamic Architecture (3 cr)
• IAA712 Graduate Survey of Islamic Art (3 cr)
• IAA731 Graduate Seminar (3 cr)

Summer

• IAA721 Field Research & Studies (3 cr)
• IAA Elective (3 cr)

YEAR TWO

Fall

• IAA Elective (3 cr)
• IAA Elective (3 cr)
• IAA722 Special Topics (3 cr)

Spring

• IAA799 Master’s Thesis (6 cr)

ELECTIVES

• IAA741 Byzantine and Early Islamic Art and Architecture (3 cr)
• IAA742 The Art and Architecture of the Ayyubids and the Mamluks (3 cr)
• IAA743 Identity and Modernity in the Middle East (3 cr)
• IAA744 Ornament in Islamic Art and Architecture (3 cr)
• IAA745 Calligraphy in Islamic Art and Architecture (3 cr)
• IAA746 Geometry in Islamic Art and Architecture (3 cr)
• IAA747 Figural Representation in Islamic Art (3 cr)