28341 - Islamic Studies (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course the student will have acquired a thorough knowledge of the main elements costituiting Islam. He will be able to discuss them effectively both orally and in writing, using the appropriate terminology and with suitable bibliographic references.

Course contents

Islam: Beliefs and Practices.

The course will focus on the presentation and discussion of the founding elements of Islamic religion: a certain idea of God, of scripture, of prophethood and rituals; certain ways of talking about God, i.e. theology, and so forth. Sources in translation (the Koran in particular, Hadith and excerpts from the life of Muhammad) will be read and commented with the class. Students will be encouraged to think critically about all the topics that will be discussed throughout the course.

Readings/Bibliography

Reading list.

Overview.

• Andrew Rippin, Muslims: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices, Londra: Routledge, quarta edizione 2012.

On the Koran and its History.

• Alfred-Louis de Prémare, Alle origini del Corano, Roma: Carocci, 2014.

How to study Islam? Methodological issue:

• Talal Asad, The Idea of an Anthopology of Islam, Georgetown: Center for the Study of Contemporary islam, 1986, 28pp (sacricabile on-line).
• Ovamir Anjum, "islam as a Discursive Tradition: Talal Asad and His Interlocutors", in: Comparative Studies of South Asia and the Middle East, 27/3 (2007) (scaricabile on-line).

Useful readings.

Brown, Jonathan, Hadith, Muhammad's Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World, Oxford: Oneworld, 2009.

Amir-Moezzi, Mohammad Ali-Jambet Christian, Qu'est-ce que le shi'îsme?, Paris: Fayard, 2004.

Dizionario del Corano, edizione italiana a cura di Ida Zilio Grandi, Mondadori.

Encyclopaedia Iranica, London-Boston, Routledge, 1982-, oltre che in copia cartacea, è disponibile gratuitamente anche in: http://www.iranicaonline.org/

Encyclopaedia of Islam/Encyclopédie de l'Islam, Brill, seconda e terza edizione

Encyclopaedia of the Qur'ān, 6 vol., Brill.

Francesca, Ersilia, Economia, religione e morale nell'Islam , Roma: Carocci: 2013.

Haarman, Ulrich, Storia del mondo arabo, edizione italiana a cura di Francesco Leccese, Torino: Einaudi, 2010.

Hourani, Albert, Storia dei Popoli Arabi, Mondadori, (varie edizioni).

Index Islamicus (per ricerche bibliografiche)

Islam. Le religioni nel mondo moderno, vol. 3, a cura di Roberto Tottoli, Torino: Einaudi, 2009.

Naef, Sylvia, La questione dell'immagine nell'Islam, O Barra O Edizioni, 2011.

Silverstein, Adam, Breve Storia dell'Islam, Roma: Carocci, 2013

Karamustafa, Ahmet, Sufism: The Formative Period , Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007.

The Cambridge Companion to Classical Islamic Theology, Tim Winter (ed), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.

The Cambridge Companion to Muhammad , Jonathan E. Brockopp (ed), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.

The Cambridge Companion to the Qur'an , Jane Dammen McAuliffe (ed), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.

The New Cambridge History of Islam , 6 voll., Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Van Ess, Joseph, L'alba della teologia musulmana, Torino: Einaudi, 2008.

Teaching methods

Lectures. The possibility of students' oral presentation will be also considered.

Assessment methods

The exam will be conducted orally and will assess the student's command of the material studied in the course.

The student will be assessed according to his/her ability to present and critically discuss the topics raised, making use of the exam bibliography and the course tools provided. The students may also be asked to present and discuss some of the sources which were read together during the course.

Top marks (28-30L) will be awarded to students displaying an excellent command of the topic, a critical approach to the material, a confident and effective use of the appropriate terminology.

Average marks (25-27) will be awarded to students who are able to summarise the relevant topics, but are not familiar with historiographical and historical debates, nor display a full command of the appropriate terminology.

Low marks (18-24) will be awarded to students displaying a patchy knowledge of the relevant topics and who do not command the appropriate terminology.

A student will be deemed to have failed the exam if he displays significant errors in his understanding and failure to grasp the overall outlines of the subject, together with a poor command of the appropriate terminology.

Teaching tools

Power Point presentations which will be uploaded at the end of the course.

Office hours

See the website of Caterina Bori