INTRODUCTION TO SUFISM (ISLAMIC MYSTICISM)

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.

FOLKLORE/RELIGST 104

An introduction to the study of religion through the lens of sacred places and journeys, including pilgrimage.

RELIGST 101

Foundational and thematic approaches in the academic study of religion applied across global religious systems.

AFRICAN/ASIAN/RELIGST 370

The emergence and development of Islam; schism; theology; asceticism; speculative and popular mysticism; literatures in diverse Islamic languages. Not open to students with credit for LCA 370 prior to Fall 2019.

ASIAN/RELIGST 206

An introduction to the Qur'an, the sacred scripture of the Islamic religious tradition, focused on Muslim approaches to reading the text, its themes and history, and its use as a source of law, theology, aesthetics, politics, and practices of piety.