Islamic art and architecture, like any other form of art that attempts to characterize the material production of a particular faith or variety of cultures over the longue durée, simply cannot be understood as an autonomous artistic development. Indeed, scholars of Islamic art and architecture, over the past decade or so in particular, have demonstrated that the field is characterized by a dialogic process of development rather than an autonomous or mimetic one that depends on its Western counterpart. Thus, the inherent challenge to those who teach the subject is to simultaneously convey the idea that Islamic architecture is an integral part of the broader, indeed global, history of architecture, while maintaining the idea that the field remains distinct enough to be characterized as its own discipline. Therefore, this module presents a history of Islamic architecture through the lens of five [construction] materials and techniques. Each lecture takes as its subject a building technique or material and traces its global range and influences in the development of the subject. By making specific materials or techniques on related topics within the overall theme of a traditional...