ISLAM: RELIGION AND CULTURE

ASIAN/RELIGST 274

Introductory survey of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Sikhism, etc., and an examination of the cultural, historical, ritual, and philosophical foundations of South Asian religion. Not open to students with credit for LCA 274 prior to Fall 2019.

ASIAN/RELIGST 444

The rise and development of mysticism in Islam; basic Sufi doctrines, values and practices; life and works of important speculative and popular Sufi saints; Sufi brotherhoods in the Middle East, South Asia and North Africa.

AFRICAN/RELIGST 414

Explore African Muslim communities and Black Muslim communities in the US as an under-examined archive of Islamic authenticity and authority. Involves close readings of ethnographies, fiction, films, and other forms of cultural expression and examination of the practice of Islam and representation of Muslims in Africa and Muslims of African ancestry in the US. Through both primary and secondary sources, explore themes of not just authenticity and authority but also related issues of representation, positionality, difference, otherness, essentialism, and normativity. Ultimately, form a deeper understanding of the diversity and complexity of Islam and Muslims of African ancestry.

HISTORY/RELIGST 205

Development of society and culture in the Middle East and North Africa from the emergence of Islam (7th century) to early modern times.

AFRICAN 231

Overview on Arabic cultural production. Develops a historic and critical understanding of Arabic literary traditions, as well as related musical and visual arts, up to the twenty-first century.