The course will offer a general overview of the historical development of Muslim doctrine in its intellectual dimensions and in their relationship to the wider historical context of the Islamicate societies.

Students should be able to grasp the central points of Islamic intellectual debates, locating them culturally and temporally in their appropriate context , and to orient themselves among the basic concepts of Islam, the main doctrinal themes and the critical debates with historical awareness.

The course is arranged into three principal sections:

1) In the first part, the main aspects of Muslim religious culture of the formative and Classic periods will be presented: doctrinal foundations, major sectarian divisions, essential elements of cultic activity, discursive theology (kalam), philosophy (falsafa), the cultural role of speech, the political vision (Caliphate).

2) In the second part, the students will take part in seminars, discussing some aspects of islamic tradition with direct reading of texts. This section will focus on philosophical works. 

3) In the third part, terms and figures of the islamic intellectual debates in the modern and contmporary times will be presented, also with seminary discussions. This section will give particular attention to the Arabic speaking area.

Detailed program:

I part (3 weeks, 15 hours) Outline of the historical development of Islamic doctrines

1st Week:

Introduction.

Islam as a civilization of the word. Pre-islamic Arabia. The religious context of Late Antiquity.

2nd Week:

The historical debate aboout the origins of Islam. The formation of Qur'an and Sunna.

Central themes in Muhammad's message. The formation of the Muslim Umma. The fitna. The sectarian divides.

Borth and early development of Islamic theological discourse. The Mu'tazila.

3rd Week:

The crystallization of the major traditions of thought. Ash'arism, Maturidism, Traditionism. Juridical Schools.

The doctrinal maturity of Islamic Thought: al-Mawardi. al-Ghazali. Post-classical thought: Ibn Khaldun. Ibn Taymiyya.

II part (2 Weeks, 10 hours) The political problem of knowledge: introduction to Islamic Classical philosophy in comparative perspective.

1st Week:

The intellectual space of Islamic Middle Ages.

Linguistic and political thought between VIII and XIII centuries.

Philosophy, grammar and logic.

2nd Week:

Falsafa and kalam.

Seminaries

III part (4 Weeks, 20 hours) Modern and Contemporary Islamic thought: trends and problems.

1st Week: “Reform” e “Modernity” in Islam (XV-XIX centuries).

2nd Week: The problem of the Caliphate and the fall of the Ottoman Empire.

3rd Week: Seminaries.

4th Settimana: Understanding contemporart political Islam: Sayyid Qutb, Ruhollah Khomeyni. Analysis of journal articles and news.

Conclusions (1Week, 3 hours)

Knowledge and understanding: Understanding of essential doctrinal aspects of Islam, of the main cultural debates within their context, and of the general lines of their historical development.

Applied knowledge and understanding:
Ability to relate the studied content to contemporary situation, to read present news and discussion critically.

Autonomy: ability to tackle with the historical complexity of the situations presented.

Communicative skills: ability to summarize and espress proprerly, in oral and written forms, the results of personal study and reflection.
Learning skills: ability to confront critically and autonomously with the text and discuss its contents.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Academic articles, written essays by students, slides, maps, playing cards.

The vision of the movie Timbuktu by Abdarrahmane Sissako is recommended to all students.

Teaching

Traditional lessons. Seminaries. Classroom groupwork, including games and roleplaying.
Classroom presentations by students. Recordings of lessons may be put the student's disposal on request.

Audiovisual presentations.

Attendance

Attendance is free.

Course books

"Islam" edited by Giovanni Filoramo, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2007

- Another book to be chosen from the following list. The student will write a brief essay (roughly 1500 words) on this reading for the exam and present this reading in the class seminaries.

- All essays, after review by the teacher, will be put online as study material. They are part of the program for the exam.


List of choice books:

Classical period:

Sources:

al-Farabi, “La città virtuosa”, Rizzoli, Milano 2008.

al-Ghazali, “Le luci della sapienza”, Mondadori, Milano 2012.

Avempace, “Il regime del solitario”, Rizzoli, Milano, 2002.

Ibn Tufayl, “L'epistola di Hayy Ibn Yaqzan. I segreti della filosofia orientale”, Rusconi, Milano 1983. (This text is not easily available. Interested students may contact the teacher or read it in English or French translation or Arabic original).

Averroè, “Il trattato decisivo sull'accordo della religione con la filosofia”, Rizzoli, Milano, 2002.

Ibn al-Nafis, “Theologus Autodidactus”, Clarendon Press, Oxford 1968 (available online).

Monographs:

Dimitri Gutas, “Pensiero greco e cultura araba”, Einaudi, Torino, 2002.

Leonardo Capezzone, “La trasmissione del sapere nell'Islam medievale”, Jouvence, Roma, 1998.

Wael Hallaq, “Introduzione al diritto islamico”, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2013.

Nadia Anghelescu, “Lingua e cultura nella civiltà araba ”, Zamorani, Torino 1993.

Bernard Lewis, “Il linguaggio politico dell'Islam”, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2005.

Modern and contemporary period:

Sources:

Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd, “Islam e storia. Critica del discorso religioso”, Bollati Boringhieri, Torino 2002.

Ruhollah Khomeyni, “Il governo islamico”, Il Cerchio, Rimini 2007.

Monographs:

Massimo Campanini, “Ideologia e politica nell'Islam”, Il Mulino, Bologna 2008.

Lorenzo Declich, “l'Islam nudo”, Jouvence, Roma 2015.

Olivier Roy, “Global Muslim”, Feltrinelli, Milano 2003.

Ugo Fabietti, “Medio Oriente. Uno sguardo antropologico”, Raffaello Cortina, Milano 2016.

Hamadi Redissi, "Islam e modernità", Ombre Corte, Verona 2014.

Edward Said, “Orientalismo”, Feltrinelli, Milano 1991 (different editions).

Upon request, it is possible to choose and present, with the teacher's agreement, a different book, either in Italian or an another language (e.g. English, French, Arabic). It is also possible to read the listed book in original version or translated.

Assessment

Students are asked to write an essay of roughly 1500 word on a chosen text, to be presented orally in class and sent to the professor in written form, in electronic form, before the end of the course. The essay will be part of assessment. It may either in Italian or English.

The exam will be a brief oral interview to assess the ability to orient in space, time and themes on the subjects of the course.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

Individual study. Writing of essays.

Course books

"Islam" edited by Giovanni Filoramo, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2007

- Two books to be chosen from the following list. The student will write two brief essays (roughly 1500 words) on each reading for the exam.

- All essays, after review by the teacher, will be put online as study material. They are part of the program for the exam.

List of choice books:

Classical period:

Sources:

al-Farabi, “La città virtuosa”, Rizzoli, Milano 2008.

al-Ghazali, “Le luci della sapienza”, Mondadori, Milano 2012.

Avempace, “Il regime del solitario”, Rizzoli, Milano, 2002.

Ibn Tufayl, “L'epistola di Hayy Ibn Yaqzan. I segreti della filosofia orientale”, Rusconi, Milano 1983. (This text is not easily available. Interested students may contact the teacher or read it in English or French translation or Arabic original).

Averroè, “Il trattato decisivo sull'accordo della religione con la filosofia”, Rizzoli, Milano, 2002.

Ibn al-Nafis, “Theologus Autodidactus”, Clarendon Press, Oxford 1968 (available online).

Monographs:

Dimitri Gutas, “Pensiero greco e cultura araba”, Einaudi, Torino, 2002.

Leonardo Capezzone, “La trasmissione del sapere nell'Islam medievale”, Jouvence, Roma, 1998.

Wael Hallaq, “Introduzione al diritto islamico”, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2013.

Nadia Anghelescu, “Lingua e cultura nella civiltà araba ”, Zamorani, Torino 1993.

Bernard Lewis, “Il linguaggio politico dell'Islam”, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2005.

Modern and contemporary period:

Sources:

Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd, “Islam e storia. Critica del discorso religioso”, Bollati Boringhieri, Torino 2002.

Ruhollah Khomeyni, “Il governo islamico”, Il Cerchio, Rimini 2007.

Monographs:

Massimo Campanini, “Ideologia e politica nell'Islam”, Il Mulino, Bologna 2008.

Lorenzo Declich, “l'Islam nudo”, Jouvence, Roma 2015.

Olivier Roy, “Global Muslim”, Feltrinelli, Milano 2003.

Ugo Fabietti, “Medio Oriente. Uno sguardo antropologico”, Raffaello Cortina, Milano 2016.

Hamadi Redissi, "Islam e modernità", Ombre Corte, Verona 2014.

Edward Said, “Orientalismo”, Feltrinelli, Milano 1991 (different editions).

Upon request, it is possible to choose and present, with the teacher's agreement, a different book, either in Italian or an another language (e.g. English, French, Arabic). It is also possible to read the listed book in original version or translated.

Assessment

The exam will be a brief oral interview to assess the ability to orient in space, time and themes on the subjects of the course, particularly on the main course text ("Islam" edited by Filoramo).

Students are required to write two essays of roughly 1500 words each on two chosen texts, either in Italian or English. The essays must be sent to the teacher in electronic format before the exam essay and will be part of assessment. 

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.