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History of Art and Architecture: Special Topics- Trading Zones: Cross-Cultural Sites of the Ottomans
Last Updated: 2026-06-03 00:13:59
Abstract
The course will introduce students to Ottoman architecture through the concept of ‘trading zones’, understood as sites of encounters facilitating their users’ communication and knowledge-making despite widely diverse backgrounds.
Objective
Deepen basic knowledge, introduce approaches and methods to analyse both non-Western pre-modern architectural heritage, and cross-cultural encounters it inspired.
Content
The seminar will explore the sites of cross-cultural encounters in the Ottoman Empire between the 15th and the 18th centuries. Spanning between modern-day Iraq, Yemen, the Balkans and Algeria, the rapid development of the Ottoman Empire covered a multitude of cultures, identities, and confessions. Over the semester’s course, we will analyse how Ottoman architecture served as a mediator between discrepant ideologies, identities, and agendas while establishing the authority of the Sultan. The impact of Ottoman architecture was not restricted to the Empire’s interior since it served as a tool for cross-continental exchanges with competing powers abroad. Each meeting will prioritise a distinct structure type, its respective furnishings, and representations, such as mosques, palaces/seraglios, harems, hammams, kiosks, bazaars, and caravansaries, among others. In accounting for the capacity of Ottoman 'trading zones’ to adapt and integrate diverse cultures and images, we will prioritise works on paper and surviving architectural structures in so far as they would navigate state ideologies and propagate their reach onto neighbouring cultures.
Resources
Lecture Notes
Short set texts to read each week will be made available on Moodle. English language is required.
General Information
- Language
- English
- Levels
- BSC
- Frequency
- Yearly recurring
Examination
- Type
- ungraded semester performance
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| lecture with exercise |
History of Art and Architecture: Special Topics- Trading Zones: Cross-Cultural Sites of the Ottomans
No course 20.3.2026 (seminar week) as well as in the last two weeks of the semester.
|
|
2 h weekly |