INTRO TO ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION

This course offers an introduction to the intellectual, social, political, and cultural formations resulting from the revelation of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century until around 1800 CE. It is a “civilization” course and is introductory in nature. It is not a course in Islamic history, religion, philosophy, art, science, or literature, although all of these will be considered in various ways throughout the semester. The intent of the course is to survey the structures, themes, keywords, and subjects that are of interest for the study of Islamic societies, and to encounter a sampling of the historical sources that inform such surveys. Whether through documents, letters, sermons, explanations, publications, songs, or literature, the intention is to use historical sources in order to illuminate our understanding of the events of the past, and in particular, to help the student evaluate narratives about the past for themselves.
The course consists of a lecture and a recitation. All students must be registered for and attend both. The lectures will contextualize the required readings and primary sources, and students will participate in discussions about them in recitation. In addition to weekly readings, assignments include a weekly response post (~1 page), a midterm exam and a final exam. All of the course materials are presented in English