Twelfth lecture in the Aula Árabe Universitaria 5 series, to be given by Glaire Anderson. It will be taking place in Cordoba on April 17 and in Madrid on April 18. Video games have become a powerful educational tool, one of the most meaningful ways for audiences to connect with the past. In addition, games and immersive digital experiences provide Islamic art historians with the ability to shape more inclusive, authentic perceptions of the past among the general public, making scholarly research widely accessible to audiences outside the world of academia. Scholars recognize the educational value held by games in making knowledge more accessible and shaping public perceptions about the past. Having said that, games which feature Islamic histories and visual traditions remain relatively rare.
At this conference, Anderson will be discussing the research he is conducting, which combined game development with museum collections, Islamic art and history in games developed by the Digital Lab for Islamic Visual Culture & Collections, with the cooperation of partners from industry, academia and GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums).
Organized in Cordoba with the cooperation of the University of Cordoba’s bachelor’s degree program in Art History, in representation of that degree program, it will be taking place on Wednesday, April 17. The speaker will be introduced by Rafael Blanco, an Art History professor at the University of Cordoba. Moderated by Javier Rosón, Casa Árabe’s coordinator in Cordoba.
In Madrid, we have organized for Thursday, April 18, with the cooperation of the Master’s degree program on “The Medieval Iberian World: Hispania, Al-Andalus and Sefarad“ and the Bachelor’s Degree in History at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Representing both programs, there will be participation and an introduction of the speaker by Santiago Palacios Ontalva, Vice-Rector of Bachelor’s Degree Studies and a Medieval History professor at the UAM, and Javier Albarrán, a professor of Medieval History at the same university. Moderated by Olivia Orozco, Casa Árabe’s Training and Economics Coordinator.
The session held on April 18 can also be viewed later on Casa Árabe’s YouTube channel.
Glaire D. Anderson Glaire D. Anderson is the founding leader of the Digital Laboratory for Islamic Visual Culture and Collections (DLIVCC), as well as a senior lecturer in Islamic Art at the University of Edinburgh, where she directs the Master’s degree Program in Art History, Theory and Exhibition in the School of Art History.
With a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Architectural History, Theory and Criticism and the Aga Khan Program in Islamic Architecture, she also holds an M.A. in Architectural History and Historic Preservation from the University of Virginia.
She has authored two award-winning monographs titled A Bridge to the Sky: Art and Science in the Age of Ibn Firnas (Oxford UP, 2024), and The Islamic Villa in Early Medieval Iberia: Aristocratic Estates and Court Culture in Umayyad Cordoba (Ashgate, 2013), as well as numerous articles, and the co-editing of The Aghlabids and Their Neighbors (Brill, 2006), and Revisiting al-Andalus: Perspectives on the Material Culture of Islam Iberia and Beyond (Brill, 2007).