Certificate of Achievement
has completed the following course:
The Birmingham Qur'an: Its Journey from the Islamic Heartlands
The Birmingham Qur’an is one of the oldest surviving Islamic manuscripts. You learned how to identify features of Qur’an manuscripts and how they influenced the arts of the book in Islamic manuscript culture. You also learned about the Mingana collection of Middle Eastern manuscripts and their relevance to the 21st century.
4 weeks, 3 hours per week
Susan Worrall
Director of Special Collections
University of Birmingham
Transcript
Learning outcomes
- Explore and understand the historic and cultural significance of the Birmingham Qur’an manuscript dating
- Develop an appreciation of the religious, social and community importance of the Birmingham Qur’an manuscript
- Engage with the journey of the Birmingham Qur’an from the Islamic heartlands to Birmingham University
- Investigate the features of the Birmingham Qur'an manuscript and understand how they relate to the Arabic written tradition
- Demonstrate an ability to trace developments in Arabic script, calligraphy and the decorative arts used in Qur'anic manuscripts
- Assess the benefits to research through consulting primary source materials
- Explore and appreciate the size, variety and importance of the Mingana collection of Middle Eastern manuscripts
- Debate the morals and ethics of western collecting from other cultures
- Evaluate and consider the relevance of historic manuscripts to the contemporary world
- Reflect on how radiocarbon dating and modern technology can be used to date and analyse manuscripts
- Compare and identify techniques and preservation methods used to care for historic manuscripts
Syllabus
Week 1 The Journey of the Birmingham Qur’an manuscript; How the radiocarbon dating of the manuscript became a world-wide news sensation; The significance of the dating and its origins
Week 2 The Qur’an and the Arts of the Book; How the Birmingham Qur’an manuscript relates to the development of the Arabic written tradition; Qur’an manuscripts and Arabic calligraphy; The Arts of Qur’an manuscripts and Islamic manuscript culture
Week 3 Using radiocarbon dating to date manuscripts; Modern technology in the research and analysis of historic manuscripts; Techniques and preservation methods in the conservation and care of historic manuscripts; The value of primary historic sources as a valuable resource for research
Week 4 The Birmingham Qur’an and other historic manuscripts of the Mingana collection; The Islamic Arabic & Persian manuscripts in the Mingana collection held in the Cadbury Research Library as a collection of international importance; The relevance of the Birmingham Qur’an and other manuscripts to the contemporary world, local communities, researchers and academics; The ethics of collecting from different cultures
Issued on 4th December 2017
The person named on this certificate has completed the activities in the transcript above. For more information about Certificates of Achievement and the effort required to become eligible, visit futurelearn.com/proof-of-learning/certificate-of-achievement.
This certificate represents proof of learning. It is not a formal qualification, degree, or part of a degree.