An introduction to the Islamic religious tradition, focusing on major themes of Islamic religious thought; this year there is a special focus on the Qur'an. It will bring out both traditional spirituality and the critical issues confronting Muslims today. 

None. This course assumes no prior knowledge of the subject. In addition, one does not need to be a believer in any particular religion, or for that matter a skeptic, to realize the importance of Islam in history and in the contemporary world.
As part of the First-Year Seminar program, it is closed to upper-class students.

The basic goals of the course are three:

• Gaining information about the Islamic religion: to give you access to some basic information about Islam, without attempting to discuss all details comprehensively (that would be an impossible task). This will be done primarily by examining two kinds of materials:
1. biographical studies of the Prophet Muhammad by modern scholars
2. through primary sources (religious and literary texts, film, art, music)that illustrate some of the possible ways in which Muslims have expressed their religious life in terms of different images of the Prophet Muhammad.
   The classes are designed to clarify the relationship between these sources  and the larger Islamic themes to which they are connected.
• Understanding problems related to the study of religion: to equip you with tools to evaluate the ways in which religion is conceptualized. The particular problems that we will discuss in relation to Islam including negative media stereotypes (particularly those involving violence and gender) and "essentialism" (the belief that a particular religion is always the same, regardless of history or variables such as politics).
• Developing analytical skills: to refine skills in thinking and writing, so that after the course students will be able to offer informed and insightful analysis of topics in religion, including but not limited to Islam

The Veil and the Male Elite : A Feminist Interpretation of Women's Rights in Islam, by Fatima Mernissi, Mary Jo Lakeland (Translator). Perseus Press; ISBN: 0201632217

Approaching the Qur'an: The Early Revelations , translated by Michael Sells (with audio CD). White Cloud Press; ; ISBN: 1883991269

Liberal Islam: A Sourcebook, edited by Charles Kurzman. Oxford University Press; ISBN: 0195116224

Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World, by Carl W. Ernst. UNC Press, 2003.

Plus selected texts and images available on the Internet

• Tour of Islamic art exhibit at Ackland Art Museum
• Extensive use of films from UNC's large collection of films on Islam and the Middle East
• Distinguished guest speakers
  
• Use and evaluation of Internet materials on Islam