This course explores the contents of the Quran and probes its place in the history of human civilization. Students will learn about, and critically reflect on, the following subjects:
1) The Quran's core ideas, stories, laws, parables, and arguments
2) The historical context in which the Quran was first promulgated and codified
3) The relationship between the Quran and the preceding literary traditions of the ancient world, in particular the Bible and post-biblical Jewish and Christian writings
4) Muslim utilization of the Quran towards intellectual, social, religious, cultural, and political ends
5) The pre-modern and modern scholarly traditions of interpreting the Quran.
These goals will be met through reading a substantial portion of the Quran in translation (from The Study Quran). In addition, lectures and scholarly essays will contextualize and complement our encounter with the Quranic text, while course papers aim to consolidate the textual, historical, and methodological content of the course. By the end of the semester, students should have the ability to utilize various resources and concordances in order to conduct further investigations and critically evaluate claims made about the Quran.