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Course on “The art of the North African Almoravid and Almohad Berber empires”

From February 08, 2023 until March 06, 2023The classes will be held at 11:30 a.m. and will last one and a half hours.
CORDOBA
Casa Árabe headquarters (at Calle Samuel de los Santos Gener, 9). The classes will be held at 11:30 a.m. and will last one and a half hours. The registration fee is 50 euros. No more than 35 students.
In Spanish.

From March 7 to June 13, Casa Árabe is offering this art training course at its headquarters in Cordoba. It will be held across 15 sessions and includes guided tours, as well as theoretical teachings. Sign up now!

The course, taught by Professor Marisa Campillo, is intended to provide participants with the tools needed to describe and analyze the art of North Africa’s Almoravid and Almohad Berber empires through their different eras, as well as recognizing and distinguishing their main architectural works.

After the success of the prior editions, “Approaching the Art of Al-Andalus” and “Mudéjar Art in Spanish Architecture,” Casa Árabe is offering this course intended for anyone who wishes to learn about Mudéjar art and analyze it in its different forms, regardless of their prior academic background. The contents and corresponding guided tours (to be given by those students involved) will take place across 15 weeks, from March to June 2023.

The process experienced during the Almoravid and Almohad empires bears some relation with what occurred in the early history of the Muslims, as people who emerged from the Sahara Desert in the former case, or from the Atlas region in the latter, moved by their Muslim faith and a desire to find more prosperous lands, setting out from the South to conquer northern territories, thus coming into contact with other peoples and cultural traditions whose roots lay in the classical world.

Art, and above all architecture, was to become a key instrument in representing the new political and religious reality of these peoples who incorporated Al-Andalus into their empire, establishing close ties between the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa.

This course is intended for anyone, regardless of their academic background, who wishes to learn about and analyze Almoravid and Almohad art within the context of Islamic art.

It is designed to appeal to a specific group of individuals with cultural concerns who would like to devote part of their time to learning about the artistic heritage of our country.

GOALS
- To provide participants with all of the tools necessary to acquire better knowledge about their artistic and cultural surroundings.
- Based on the historical context, to describe and analyze the Almoravid and Almohad art in North Africa and Al-Andalus.
- Recognizing and distinguishing the main architectural works, using artistic language and the proper specific terminology.
- Promoting social communication through interpersonal relationships.

METHODOLOGY
The methodology will be based upon:
1.- Weekly sessions in person lasting an hour and a half. At these sessions, different teaching resources will be used, including PowerPoint presentations, videos, charts, maps, timelines, etc.
2.- Guided tours of the most important artistic monuments in these styles. It will be an active and participatory methodology that allows those attending to develop their own criteria and express them.

CONTENTS
The art of North Africa’s Almoravid and Almohad Berber empires.
- Historical context.
- General characteristics.
- Almoravid architecture in North Africa.
- Almoravid architecture in Al-Andalus.
- Almohad architecture in North Africa.
- Almohad architecture in Al-Andalus.

GUIDED TOURS
These contents will be matched up with corresponding guided tours and will be taking place from March through May of 2023.

REGISTRATION
To register, you must click on “Purchase Ticket” using the “Tickets” button on this website. Please, clearly enter your full name and an email address where we can contact you. Thank you in advance.

DOCENT
Marisa Campillo Martín, a professor of Art History, has a degree in Geography and History from the University of Granada.
Course on “The art of the North African Almoravid and Almohad Berber empires”
Patio del Yeso at the Alcázar of Seville, Almohad period. Photo courtesy of José Ruiz Ramos, a student in the course.