UNC
Chapel Hill - Summer II 2005
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RELIGIOUS STUDIES 025 Home | Information | Schedule | Requirements | Links Schedule Upcoming lectures, exhibits, and performances relating to the Middle East and Muslim civilizations Notes:
I. Introduction to the Study of Islam 1.
June 23 The Study of Islamic Civilization Today Website: Read
the first two articles about
the UNC Qur'an controversy.
Why was this such a big deal? Why did this become a national issue? 2. June
27 Religion,
Islamic
Civilization, and History
Reading: Ernst, Following Muhammad, chapter 2, "Approaching Islam in Terms of Religion" pp. 38-69; Berkey, pp. 1-53. Notes. Study question: changing meaning of "religion" and "religions" in the colonial era; characteristics of the religions of the ancient world, particularly in relation to empire Notes: Islam and the World of Muhammad al-Khazina ("the Treasury"): Princeton web site on Islamic studies Historical maps
II. Sources of Islamic Tradition 3.
June 28 The Prophet Muhammad and the Qur'an
Reading: Ernst, Following Muhammad, pp. 71-105, 108-119; Berkey, pp. 57-69; Notes The Sura of the Cave (Qur. 18), trans. W. N. Crest (you will need userid and password no. 1); See "Questions to Consider" in the prefatory remarks to this reading, for suggested study questions on "You" verses and "Say" verses Web
assignment. Examine one
of the
following extreme Christian fundamentalist sites on Islam:
Questions that can be
addressed
include:
4. June 29
Texts, gender, and
authority in
early Islamic society 5. June
30 Islamic
Arts, especially calligraphy Museum Tour.
We
will go to the Ackland Art Museum (click here for a map) to
see the permanent Islamic art
collection.
6. July 5 Rethinking
women in
early Islamic society III. The Dome of the Rock and the imperial politics of the Caliphate 7.
July 6 The Rock, part 1 Exercise:
Visiting the Dome of the Rock.
Log into the Electronic Media Cooperative, click on Courses, go to Reli 25, and examine photos of the Dome of Rock. Examine the Qur'anic inscriptions in the Dome of the Rock as summarized by Bruce Lawrence (here; you will need userid and password no. 1). Why were these verses chosen? What would be the impact of reading them as one circumambulates the shrine? 10. July 12
Rethinking
women in
early Islamic society (cont'd)
IV.
Religion and Culture in Early Islamic
Civilization
11.
July 13 Overview of the early Caliphate 12. July
14 Shi`ism. Photos of
tombs of the Imams in Medina -- why would theWahhabis of
SaudiArabia have destroyed all these tombs in 1925?
Photos of shrines relating to Ali Photos of shrines relating to the martyrdom of Husayn Photos of shrines relating to the 10th, 11th, and 12th Imams Tears for Kerbala, a children's book on the martyrdom of Husayn Chart of the 14 Infallibles 13. July
18
Sufism.
Sa`di's elegy on the fall of Baghdad to the Mongols. How do you reconcile this lament with the fact that his patron assisted the Mongols? V. Samarkand: Religion, History, and
Culture in Seljuk Persia
15. July
20 Omar
Khayyam and the
Assassins in fact and fiction 16. July 21
The
Past
in the Present: in Search of Omar's Manuscript 17. July
25 The
Past in the Present: Omar, Baskerville, and Middle Eastern modernity
18. July
26
Conclusions Return
edited essays to your partner on your own, on June 27 Final Exam Essay Due by Fri., June 29, 3 pm (my mailbox in Saunders 125) |