I teach a 9th grade World to 1500 survey type course. For each of the units I've tried to enhance the curriculum with some art history influences. For the past 20+ years I've taught this unit much along the lines of the TED-X video beginning with pre-Islamic Arabia through the fall of the Abbasids. We've emphasized the role of Arabic and the cosmopolitan nature of Baghdad and the subsequent scientific advancements. We've also leaned on this unit to transition from what students may view as ancient to, hopefully, an emerging modern world. Dribble in the Eastern Roman Empire, Crusading movement from the west, emerging Asian forces and growth from the Mongols and this has become an engaging unit for my students.

I hope I've be able to increase my own understanding of the subject to enhance my own storytelling, which I believe is the crux of effective teaching, as well as increase my body of resources to use along the way. 

I found the Rabbat reading fascinating and I'm looking forward to digging into some of those works he analyzes in his historiography. However the opening quote he uses from Graeber will prove extremely relevant in my curriculum in which he makes the observation that the parallels of a rising Islam mirrors much of what historians consider the "western tradition." The overarching theme we lean into through our course is the universality of the human experience. I'm looking forward to pointing this out for this unit now using this quote. Although I'll need to fill in the holes that I may not readily see just yet.