HIST 3494W is also offered in Spring 2025
HIST 3494W is also offered in Spring 2024
HIST 3494W is also offered in Spring 2023
Spring 2024 | HIST 3494W Section 001: Christ in Islamic Thought (55449)
- Instructor(s)
- Class Component:
- Lecture
- Credits:
- 3 Credits
- Grading Basis:
- Student Option
- Instructor Consent:
- No Special Consent Required
- Instruction Mode:
- In Person
- Class Attributes:
UMNTC Liberal Education Requirement
- Meets With:
RELS 3718W Section 001
- Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 435
- Enrollment Status:
Open (9 of 15 seats filled)
- Also Offered:
- Course Catalog Description:
- Course examines the history of the figure of Christ in Islamic thought, from the beginnings of Islam in the Qur'an and the Hadith to the recent 2013 book by Reza Aslan, Zealot. The course is based on close reading of primary sources from regions extending from Spain to Iran, and in various languages (in translation): Arabic, Greek, French, Farsi, and Italian. Course demonstrates how much the interpretation of the figure of Christ in Islamic thought belonged to specific historical contexts. prereq: None
- Class Description:
- Islam has a long history of engagement with the figure of Christ, who is viewed as the last prophet before Muhammad. This course examines that engagement from the beginnings in the Qur'an and Hadith, and into the medieval and early modern history. It will focus on texts in their social and political/sectarian context, from Sufi poetry and Stories about the Prophets to the Gospel of Barnabas and its relation to Spanish and European history in the sixteenth century. The course ends with a study of 20th-
and 21st-century writings by Muslim authors about Christ, who used Christ to reflect/criticize modern political and social change in Egypt and the rest of the Arab World. The course also includes excerpts from the 20-hour Iranian TV series about Christ (and a shorter one on Mary) and will touch on the controversies that surrounded these and other depictions of religious figures. The last session will be devoted to some ‘puzzle' poems and Zealot
by Reza Aslan.
- Who Should Take This Class?:
- Anyone interested in the religious history of the dialogue between Christianity and Islam, and in the social and political developments from the 7th to the 21st centuries. The course covers material from Arabia to Iran, and from Egypt to Spain.
- Learning Objectives:
- Students will acquire mastery of the basic concepts that are distinctive to Islam at the same time that they will see its place in the trajectory of prophetic history. As this course in WI, attention will be closely paid to essay writing.
- Grading:
- A-F
- Exam Format:
- Essays.
- Class Format:
- Lectures, movies, and discussions.
- Workload:
- On average, one book (depending on length) or movie per week.
- Textbooks:
- https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/55449/1243
- Syllabus:
- http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/matar010_RELS3718W_Spring2024.docx
- Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
- 14 November 2023
ClassInfo Links - Spring 2024 History Classes