Summer 2010 Courses

8 (12) Introduction to Islam (Instructor: Reinhart) (Identical to AMES 8)

This course will provide students with useful tools for reading about, thinking about, or otherwise engaging with Islam and Muslims. It is first a survey of important topics in the study of the religion of Islam, including the Qur'an and the Prophet, the role of Islamic mysticism, Islam and the state, Islamic law, and Islamic theories of family and person. We also discuss Orientalism and the western study of Islam, so that we can understand ourselves as students of the Islamic tradition. Open to all classes. Dist: TMV; WCult: NW.

20.1. (10) Foundational Figures in the Study of Religion (Instructor: Reinhart)

In this course we will read the works of a number of the "greats"-Tylor, Durkheim, Freud, Weber, among others-who shaped the modern, scholarly study of religion. We will also read critical literature on their work. The course is designed to give students a grounding in the methods and approaches taken for granted in the field of the study of religion. Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Dist: TMV.