HIST3493W: Islam: Religion and Culture

This course serves as an introduction to the rise of Islam and its spread, tracing its journey from a local to a global religion. Special emphasis will be placed on the “classical period” of Islamic history, from the formation of the Qur’an in the seventh century CE to the fall of Abbasid Baghdad in the thirteenth century CE, while still tracing the trajectories of Islamic identity on into the early modern and modern world. We will pay careful attention to the historical context in which Islam arose and the dialogue it has maintained with other world religions from its very beginning. While engaging with important developments in Islamic thinking and culture in the Middle East and North Africa, we will also study the history of Islam in Europe and eastern Asia. A core aspect of this course will be to highlight the Qur’an and the Hadith as foundational documents in the development of Islamic religious identity. At the same time, this course will introduce students to the literary, scientific, political, philosophical, and artistic achievements of this formative period in Islamic history. Throughout this course, we will maintain a focus on the relationship between Muslims and their religious neighbors, especially Jews and Christians. We will highlight reoccurring themes in these relationships, from scholarly competition to neighborly cooperation to violence and, at times, sustained warfare.

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