Caliphs, Courtesans, Craftsmen: A Week in the Life in the Medieval Middle East *Online* *NEW*

The medieval period in the Middle East is often referred to as the “Islamic Golden Age” – a period of intellectual, cultural, and scientific flourishing and advancement. Cities such as Cairo, Baghdad, and Damascus were the centers of this activity, bustling hubs of culture and commerce that rivalled or exceeded cities anywhere else in the world during this period. This course delves into everyday life during the Islamic Golden Age through the eyes of the inhabitants of these metropolises. Each week will focus on a different social class or group, from the ruling elite to merchants to street performers to enslaved peoples, examining where they came from, how they lived, how they spent their time, how they were perceived by others around them, and their contributions to their urban milieu. Each week we will read and discuss a primary source text that illuminates the social and cultural richness and diversity of the medieval Islamic world.
Instructor: Maggie Freeman

Sections

Instructor

Maggie Freeman is a PhD candidate in History, Theory and Criticism of Art and Architecture and the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at MIT, where she researches uses of architecture by nomadic peoples with a focus on the modern Middle East. She has researched, published, presented, and taught on a range of topics from medieval Islamic architecture to the global history of nomadism.