Archnet Pedagogy Project

Purpose and Mission:

The purpose of the Archnet Pedagogy Collection is to make well-crafted and practical resources publicly available for those teaching the subject of Islamic art and architecture. The collection provides useful aids in a variety of media that can assist instructors in how they might approach and understand this diverse and prodigious subject matter and its extensive historiography in order to teach it more effectively. Sourced predominantly from the vast Archnet website, which contains both image and textual sources in a single location, the collection includes both prepared lectures as well as the ability for individuals to create their own using the ‘thumbnail bar’ feature. The prepared lectures are available for download as PowerPoint files and can be easily tailored to meet an instructor’s specific needs. The ultimate goal of the Pedagogy Collection is to facilitate and enhance the teaching of art and architecture produced by predominantly Muslim societies by showcasing the rich possibilities of Archnet.

Click on the image to the right to view the collection. Among the resources you will find are: 

• Aga Khan Trust for Culture Education Programme - This growing collection will contain an extensive set of pedagogical resources for all levels, with a special focus on projects of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, including the Award for Architecture and the Historic Cities Programme.
• Introduction to Islamic Architecture - Ready to use PowerPoint Presentations that can be used in whole or in part for teaching about Islamic architecture
• K-12 - Resources for primary and secondary education
• Maghrib Past and Present Podcast - A selection of episodes relating to the built environment from the series of the American Institute for Maghrib Studies
• Publications - Articles and books on various aspects of pedagogy
• Syllabi - Created by some of the leading scholars in the field for both general survey courses, and advanced specialized courses
• Teaching Collections - Scholars' archives donated to AKDC@MIT; each scholar's collection is unique and may contain slides, prints, field notes, and other materials as outlined in the finding aids for each archive

A useful entry point for the study of Islamic architecture is the Archnet Timeline. This introductory tool situates the most studied historical periods and monuments of Islamic art and architecture in relation to their dates and to one another, thus facilitating comparative analysis of multiple periods. 

Finally, we remind you that this collection is under development and that we welcome your comments, suggestions, and contributions.