Identity and Islamic Material Culture (summer term 2020)

Prof Dr Bethany Walker

First session: Tuesday, Apr. 21, 2020 - 7.00 to 8.30 pm (CET)
Last session: Tuesday, Jul. 7, 2020 - 7.00 to 8.30 pm (CET)

This webinar is part of the "Webinar Initiative in Islamic Material Culture" jointly organized by the Universität Bonn (Bethany Walker), the Ludwig-Maximilian-Universität in Munich (Andreas Kaplony), the New York University (Abigail Krasner Balbale), and Universität Hamburg (Stefan Heidemann).

This webinar is also part of the MA program in Islamic Archaeology at the University of Bonn and associated to the Annemarie-Schimmel-Kolleg "History and Society during the Mamluk Era (1250-1517)", Centre for Advanced Studies.

Course Description and Requirements

This seminar explores the complex, and often ambiguous, ways that identity (in its various forms) can (and cannot) be reflected in material culture. It will explore expressions of gender, social class, ethnicity, religion, tribal affiliation, and regional identities in the archaeological record, focusing on ceramics, textiles, architecture (namely housing); their spatial context; and landscape transformation. The readings and case studies will be drawn from Islamic material culture from and field projects in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The requirements for this webinar are:

Attendance – Regular attendance, active participation, and preparations of weekly readings is expected of all attendees.
Readings – All participants will have read and prepared all readings for that week before the Tuesday class meeting. Reading load averages 2-3 articles or book chapters per week. These will be sent to each of you via a Dropbox link before the semester begins.
Presentations – You will give a 15-minute Power Point presentation on a topic of your choice (during the class we cover that general topic). Please clear the subject of your presentation with me, though, before the end of the first week of classes. In your final slide, please provide a list of published sources you consulted for your presentation.

Syllabus and Readings

Preliminary Class Schedule:*

1) Tuesday, Apr. 21, 2020

Introduction: Phenomenology; What is "Ethnicity"?; Methodological Challenges of Material Culture Analysis

2) Tuesday, Apr. 28, 2020

Do pots = people?: Assemblages and Spatial Context

3) Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Production, Consumption, and Identity

4) Tuesday, May 12, 2020

What Does Change in Identity Look Like? (Guest Lecture by Raffaele Ranieri, Uni Bonn)

5) Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Foodways: Diet, Cooking Practices, Disposal Practices, Feasting and Fasting

6) Tuesday, May 26, 2020

The Body: Burials, Dress (Textiles), and Jewelry

7) Tuesday, Jun. 9, 2020

An Architectural Approach: Vernacular and Imperial Architecture; Great and Little Traditions (Guest Lecture by Raffaele Ranieri, Uni Bonn)

8) Tuesday, Jun. 16, 2020

A Household Approach: the Gendered Household and the Material Culture of Childhood

9) Tuesday, Jun. 23, 2020

Religion

10) Tuesday, Jun. 30, 2020

Self-Expression: Inscribed Objects, Symbols (wusum, etc.), and Graffiti

11) Tuesday, Jul. 7, 2020

Landscape and Resource Management

* The list of weekly readings will be sent separately to the participants.

Prerequisites and Application

University-level command of English language. Open to students on the MA and PhD level, as well as post-graduates. You will need a computer with speaker and webcam, as well as a reliable internet connection, to participate.

To enroll, please email the instructor directly at bwalker"AT"uni-bonn.de. The deadline for registration is April 15, 2020.