Patwant Singh (1925-2009) was a writer on Sikh heritage and history, author of The Golden Temple and The Sikhs.
Courses
Sikh Art & Architecture
An introductory survey of the visual and built heritage of the Sikh tradition. Students explore the design and meaning of the gurdwara, the history and architecture of Sri Harmandir Sahib, the art of illuminated manuscripts of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh school of painting and fresco work, arms and material…
Sikh Sacred Architecture: The Gurdwara & Harmandir Sahib
An exploration of Sikh sacred architecture, from the meaning and function of the Gurdwara to the celebrated Harmandir Sahib at Amritsar. This course examines the core spaces of a Gurdwara, the symbolism woven into its design, the rise of a recognizable Sikh architectural style, and how built form expresses the…
The Craft of the Gurdwara: The Architecture of the Sikh Sacred Space
A graduate-level study of how the gurdwara took shape as a building. Working from Patwant Singh's writing, the course reads the gurdwara not as a fixed style but as a form that grew out of what Sikhs actually do together: gather as sangat, eat from a shared langar, and sit before the parkash of Sri
The Craft of Modern and Diaspora Sikh Art
A graduate survey of Sikh visual art from the colonial period to the present, told in plain English. We trace the rise of the Sobha Singh school of devotional Guru portraits, the mass culture of calendar art, the work of contemporary diaspora painters, the new world of Sikh comics and graphic novels
Craft, Frescoes and Mural Art of Sikh Shrines
A graduate-level course on the wall-painting tradition of Sikh shrines, told in plain English. It studies mohrakashi fresco and gach (lime-stucco) work, the painted interiors of Sri Harmandir Sahib and other historic gurdwaras, the themes and motifs the artisans chose, who those artisans were, and w