ISLAMIC RELIGION & PHILOSOPHY
NMC 2050Y ISLAMIC THEOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY: Islamicate Apocalyptic Imagination
The course is structured around the tripartite problematic of apocalypse as genre eschatology and (social) movement. Our main focus will be the Qur’an which will be read according to a grid conceived in recent apocalyptic scholarship consisting of numerous categories and themes typically found in the wider literature: other world, triumph of good over evil, judgment of the wicked, and so on. Numerous common stylistic or poetic elements of apocalypse will also be the subject of seminar discussion: the visionary or prophetic “tense”, metaphor, symbolism, allegory. In the second terms students may be encouraged to compare the findings of our work with more purely Islamic texts and subjects with cognate ones from other traditions and settings.
T. Lawson
NMC 2052H ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS THOUGHT
The focus here is Islamic mystical philosophy, its place in the greater Islamic intellectual tradition and the specific history of its development from the earliest times to the present. Special attention to the basic textual sources and their interpretation is of interest. Authors from a wide variety of backgrounds and orientations will be studied for their views on the nature of being, religious authority and law, revelation, community, love and knowledge, among other questions. The development of this discourse after the death of Ibn Rushd in the late 12th century is of particular importance to the work of the seminar.
T. Lawson
NMC 2053Y IMAGES OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD IN LITERATURE
This seminar will consider questions surrounding the image or picture of the prophet Muhammad as such may be perceived in literary works. In the first semester we will consider works written from the rise of Islam until 1258. In the second semester we will consider works written from 1258 to the present. In addition, other representations of the Prophet will be discussed. Seminar participants are encouraged to explore a wide range of genres and types of literary compositions touching on and including (but not restricted to): Qur'an, Sira, Hadith, Tafsir, Adab, Poetry, Fiqh, Kalám, Falsafa, and Tasawwuf. Literature written from outside the Muslim community may also be of interest.
Prerequisites: Ability in the Languages of Islamicate Culture and Civilization
T. Lawson
NMC 2055H THE QUR’AN AND ITS INTERPRETATION
This course is designed to orient students to the field of contemporary Qur’anic studies through reading and discussion of the text itself and of significant European-language scholarship about the Qur’an as well as through examination of the principal bibliographical tools for this subject area.
W. Saleh
NMC 2056H READINGS IN QUR’AN AND TAFSIR
This course is an introduction to the rich literature that has grown around the study of the Qur'an in the Arabic tradition. In addition to readings in the Qur'an students will read selections from works in ma'ani, and majaz; we will then move to the major works in tafsir; selections include material from al-Tabari, al-Tha`labi, al-Zamakhshari, al-Qurtubi, al-Razi, Ibn Taymiyah and al-Suyuti. The course will culminate in the study of al-Itqan of al-Suyuti. The course will also introduce students to the major reference works that are used for research in this field.
Prerequisite: At least two years of Arabic, or advanced reading knowledge, or the permission of the instructor.
W. Saleh