A new St Petersburg University online course introduces the artistic traditions of the Islamic world
St Petersburg University has launched a new online course titled "Islamic Art", developed in collaboration with the State Hermitage Museum. Students will explore the history of Islamic art from antiquity to the present day by studying architectural landmarks, manuscript and calligraphic traditions, miniature painting techniques, ceramics, jewellery, carpets, and more.
Designed for a broad audience, this popular-science distance-learning course examines the distinctive artistic language of the diverse Islamic world, spanning the Near and Middle East, Central Asia, India, and Europe. Students will become familiar with the Holy Quran and the pillars of Islam, and will explore one of the most complex issues in cultural philosophy: the dialogue between East and West in art.
The programme is already available in Russian and English on the national Open Education platform.
Part of the course is devoted to contemporary art, including painting, film, and photography. The final module features a series of workshops and interviews with experts. Students will learn various techniques for creating works of Islamic art, including the fundamentals of calligraphy and the canon of Persian-Turkish painting in the ebru style.
The course has been developed in cooperation with the State Hermitage Museum. Its authors are Mikhail Piotrovsky, General Director of the Museum and Dean of the Faculty of Asian and African Studies at St Petersburg University; and Professor Apollinariia Avrutina, Director of the Centre for Contemporary Turkish Studies and Russia-Türkiye Relations at the University.
Students will have access to weekly video lectures, specially filmed at the State Hermitage Museum and other historic institutions in St Petersburg associated with the culture of the Islamic world. The knowledge acquired will be reinforced through automated tests to check progress. Upon successful completion of all assignments and the final examination, students will receive a certificate confirming completion of the course. This certificate will provide additional points when applying for master’s and doctoral programmes in the following fields of study: Asian and African Studies; Journalism; International Relations; History of Arts; and Philology.