REL4049F: Islamic Studies

REL4049F      ISLAMIC STUDIES
24 NQF credits at NQF level 8

Convener: Dr A Alhourani

Course entry requirements: Acceptance for an honours programme.

Course outline: 
This course provides postgraduate students with tools to study Islam as a religious tradition-spanning through changing historical context(s). Using the tools of the phenomenological and historical study of religion, the course enables the students to analyse the beliefs, practices and institutions of Islam in their variety, historical development and various contexts. Themes explored include the life of the Prophet Muhammad; the transmission of the foundational sacred texts of Islam (Quran and Hadith); the development of Islamic law and jurisprudence, the formation of schools of theology and philosophy; Islamic mysticism (Sufism). Each of the above themes is addressed through a combination of phenomenological and critical historical method.

Lecture Times: Wednesdays

DP requirements: Submission of all prescribed assignments by due dates. Regular attendance of weekly seminars.

Assessment: Weekly response papers (50%) and one 4000-word essay (50%).