AH4050 Approaches to Persian Painting and the Arts of the Book

Academic year

2025 to 2026 Semester 1

Further information on which modules are specific to your programme.

Key module information

SCOTCAT credits

30

The Scottish Credit Accumulation and Transfer (SCOTCAT) system allows credits gained in Scotland to be transferred between institutions. The number of credits associated with a module gives an indication of the amount of learning effort required by the learner. European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits are half the value of SCOTCAT credits.

SCQF level

SCQF level 10

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) provides an indication of the complexity of award qualifications and associated learning and operates on an ascending numeric scale from Levels 1-12 with SCQF Level 10 equating to a Scottish undergraduate Honours degree.

Availability restrictions

Not automatically available to General Degree students

Module coordinator

Dr B S Gulkis

Dr B S Gulkis
This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module description

This module surveys the range of Arts of the Book, spanning the Persian literary and visual culture of Central Asia, Turkey, and the Indian Subcontinent from the fourteenth to the eighteenth centuries. These manuscripts are often lavishly illustrated with colourful paintings. Building on scholarly investigations, we will examine these images, their styles, and their motifs. We will also consider aspects of these books that remain under explored, such as textual contents, page layouts, the forms and functions of (non-illustrating) illumination, and how these books organised and conveyed cultural information. Questions we shall explore include: For whom were the manuscripts made? How were workshops organised? What is the relationship between text and image? This module will be delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars, and and visits to manuscript collections. Students will also engage with artistic materials and practices through hands-on exercises.

Relationship to other modules

Pre-requisites

BEFORE TAKING THIS MODULE YOU MUST ( PASS AH2002 AND PASS AH2001 ) OR PASS MH2002

Assessment pattern

Coursework = 100%

Re-assessment

1 x Written assignment to be agreed by the Board of Examiners

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact

1 lecture (x10 weeks), 2 seminars (x10 weeks), 6h of fieldwork

Scheduled learning hours

36

The number of compulsory student:staff contact hours over the period of the module.

Guided independent study hours

267

The number of hours that students are expected to invest in independent study over the period of the module.

Intended learning outcomes

  • understand the artistic processes and materials involved in creating a Persian manuscript
  • discuss the relationship between Persian arts of the book and their cultural, literary, and artistic contexts
  • engage critically with primary sources, excerpts from literary texts, and scholarly arguments
  • convey their ideas to others through clear written analysis, constructive group discussions, and presentations
  • conduct independent research through the use of library resources, artworks, and other methods of art historical analysis