ARTH 325
The Arts of the Book in Asia Spring 2025
Division I W Writing Skills
Cross-listed ASIA 325

From palm leaf manuscripts to scrolls to Islamic codices, books have long served as vehicles of religious, cultural and artistic exchange in Asia. Owing both to their portability and status as finely crafted art objects, books have transmitted ideas across the continent, spreading courtly styles of painting from China to India, esoteric Buddhist teachings from Kashmir to Tibet and Mongolia, as well as the Quranic arts of calligraphy and illumination from Islamic South Asia to Southeast Asia. This co-taught seminar will highlight the interwoven history of book arts as it developed and disseminated across different regions of Asia. The course will also introduce students to the major art forms of the book, such as painting, calligraphy and illumination. The aim of the seminar is to understand the book as object while also investigating its content and its larger cultural significance. A number of class meetings will take place in the Chapin Library, where students will have the opportunity to study original manuscripts from the Special Collections. The course will culminate in an exhibition at Chapin Library which the students will curate using the Special Collections holdings.