RLB512 Islam in the Middle East: History, Religion, Culture

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2016
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Prof. Nimrod Luz, Ph.D. (lecturer), Mgr. Jana Valtrová, Ph.D. (deputy)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. David Zbíral, Ph.D.
Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Šárka Londa Vondráčková
Supplier department: Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Mon 17. 10. 17:30–20:45 B2.44, Tue 18. 10. 15:50–19:05 B2.24, Wed 19. 10. 14:10–17:25 G31, Thu 20. 10. 15:50–19:05 K23, Fri 21. 10. 10:50–14:05 zrusena M13
Prerequisites
RLA08 Islam || RLKA08 Islam
The course will be taught in English, sufficient knowledge of he language is necessary.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 50 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/50, only registered: 0/50, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/50
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Throughout this seminar we will explore one the world's greatest civilization and follow different themes and cultural, social, political and geographical aspects from its nascent in the 7th AD to the present. The course is aimed to familiarize students with the main historical outline and historiography questions that occupy scholars of the Islamic Middle East and the Islamic world. While political history is one of the main concerns of the course, it will also explore numerous other themes. At the end of the course the students will be able
  • to understand the basic political history of the area of spreading Islam from its nascent to the Modern times.
  • to understand the principles of Islamic cultures in the Middle East within their historical and political contexts
  • to reflect most important themes of modern scholarship in this field
  • to understand the entaglements of recent political developments in the reagion and the rise of militant Islam.
    • Syllabus
    • 1. Orientation and introduction
    • By way of opening a course – analysis of Usama bin Laden's 'letter to America'
    • *http://observer.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,4552895-102275,00.html (printout)
    • 2. The world before Muhammad – geopolitics, religious philosophies and major centers of civilization
    • 3. Muhammad, and the making of Islamic civilization
    • Text analysis in class: *Ahd al-Umma (The Charter of Madina)
    • 4. Islam and the Middle East after the Prophet – political formations, crossroads and the evolution of Islamic societies
    • 5. Islamization, the changing cultural Landscape and the impacts of nomads
    • 6. The Rise (and failure) of Nation states and Islamic resurgence
    • 7. Challenges to national Middle Eastern states: militant and global Islam, the Arab Spring,– by way of conclusion
    Literature
      required literature
    • HOURANI, Albert Habib. A history of the arab peoples. London: Faber and Faber, 2005, xviii, 566. ISBN 0571226647. info
      recommended literature
    • The Arabs in history. Edited by Bernard Lewis. 6th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993, viii, 240. ISBN 9780191587665. info
    Teaching methods
    Lectures, class discussions, reading.
    Assessment methods
    Final evaluation of the students work will be based on:
  • Class attendance
  • Reading and active participation in class;
  • Reading the following item by the beginning of the third week of this semester, as it is a basic introduction text to Islamic religion and history: Hourani, Albert. A History of the Arab Peoples (London: 1991) pp. 1-79 (Part I: The Making of a World; Seventh-Tenth Century). B. Lewis, The Arabs in History, (Rev. Ed. New York and Oxford: 1993), is also highly recommended.
  • Paper (5-10 pages) on a topic to be decided during the course. Grading system:
  • 25% class participation and attendance
  • 75% final paper.
  • Language of instruction
    English
    Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
    Study Materials
    The course is taught only once.
    Information on course enrolment limitations: Zápis mimo religionistiku je podmíněn souhlasem vyučujícího.
    • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
    • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2016/RLB512