Department of History

 

Iraj Bashiri
1043 Heller Hall
Telephone: 624-3314
e-mail: bashi001@umn.edu
web: irajbashiri.com
Office hours: M, F, 1:15-2:00
or by appointment

Teaching Assistant: Matthew King
Office: 930 Heller Hall
Office Hours: T, 11:00-1:00
Email: Kingx957@umn.edu

SYLLABUS
Islam and the West
GLOS 3643; HIST 3546; RELS 3714
Fall Semester, 2013

Conceptual Frame:

This course focuses on the cultural and intellectual trends that have defined the fundamental differences between Islam and the West. It examines the development of the historical, philosophical, and intellectual mindset of both spheres and points out factors that have contributed and continue to contribute to tension, anxiety, and hatred between the peoples of the Middle East and Europe and the United States.

Objectives:

·   Acquaint the students with the fundamental differences between Islam and Western cultures

·   Equip students with the means for a better understanding of international events

·   Teach students to distinguish different trends and accept them for what they are

·   Discuss factors that create tension, anxiety, and hatred among peoples and nations

·   Examine aspects of Islamic and Western cultures that inspire respect and emulation

Class Sessions:

September

4        Introduction to the course; course content, materials to be covered, office hours, tests, oral report, book report, paper, participation, attendance, grades.
Assignment: Shahid, pp. 3-29.

6        Pre-Islamic Arabia

Assignment: Esposito, pp. 1-30   (Chapter One: Muhammad and the Qur'an)

9        Prophet Muhammad and the Rise of Islam

Assignment: Farah, pp. 125-150; Esposito, pp. 88-98 (Schools of Law to Muslim and Family Law)

Oral Reports assigned

11      The Pillars of the Islamic Faith

Assignment: Farah, pp. 174- 195

13      Sunni and Shi'ite Sects

Assignment: Esposito, pp. 68-88 (Religious Life to Schools of Law); 98-103 (Muslim Family Law to Popular Religion: Sufism).  

16      Schools of Islamic Law

Assignment: Terminology Related to Islam; Schimmel, pp. 98-186

18      Islamic Mysticism

20      Oral Report Group I

23      Oral Reports Group I

25      Oral Reports Group I      

Assignment: Attar's Seven Valleys of Love; Rogers, pp. 73-80; 107-136.

27      "Society of the Just"  "The Sufi Way"

Study Guide I posted

Assignment: Hunter, pp. 3-28; 51-76; 191-203

30      Islam in Europe is discussed

October

2        Open

4        Test 1

Assignment: Bashiri (2012), pp. 57-72.

7        The Indo-European Background of Iranian peoples

Assignment: Bashiri (2012), pp. 13-45; The Role of Farr in Firdowsi's Shahname  

9        Discussion of the role of Farr as the mainstay of Iranian government
Assignment: Grimal, pp. 97-110; Bashiri (2012), pp. 3-11.
E-reserve URL: https://reserves.lib.umn.edu/

11      The Greco-Roman and Iranian accounts of creation

Assignment: "The Ahuric Order and the Platonic Form"; Bashiri (2014), pp. 6-27; Bashiri (2014), pp. 28-53

14      The Presocratics; Popular Shi'ite Theology

Assignment: Bashiri (2014) pp. 54-79

16      Islamic intellectual heritage: al-Kindi to Ibn Sina

Assignment: Bashiri (2014), pp. 80-97; Khalili, pp. 35-48, 223-251, 241-251

18      Islamic intellectual heritage: East Meets West

21      Oral Reports II

23      Oral Reports II

25      Oral Reports II

Assignment: Bashiri (2014), pp. 98-123

28      Islamic intellectual heritage: Suhrawardi to Mulla Sadra Shirazi      

Assignment: The Republic of Plato;

30      "The Republic of Plato"

Assignment: Utopia (Pt II)

November

1        Discussion of More's Utopia       

Study Guide II posted
Assignment: Animal Farm

4        Discussion of Orwell's "Animal Farm"

6        Open

8        Test 2

Assignment: Landen, pp. 174-177; 253-257.

11      Discovery of Oil in the Middle East;

Assignment: Landen, pp. 3-49; Mansfield, pp. 167-219

13      The Middle East in World War I

Assignment: Jamal al-Din al-Afghani; Ayubi, pp. 158-162; Sullivan, pp. 162-167.

15      The Rise of Muslim Brotherhood

Assignment: Abrahamian, pp. 267-325

18      Soviet and American Activities in Iran

Assignment: Afghanistan: An Overview

20      Communist Movement in Afghanistan; Rise and fall of the Taliban

Assignment: Ismael (1982), pp. 1-41; Muslims and Communists Vie for Power in Tajikistan

22      Communism in the Muslim republics of the former Soviet Union

25      Oral Reports III

27      Oral Reports III

28-29 Thanksgiving

December

 2        Oral Reports III

 4        Roots of Terror; "The Battle of Algiers"

 6        Radical Islam

Book Report is due

Study Guide III posted

 9       The Islamists

11      General Discussion; Evaluate Course

Final Papers due

Final Exam (Test Three)

The Final Exam will be on Saturday, December 14, 2013, 8:00-10:00am.

Assignments

There will be three tests, one book report, one oral report, and one paper. Attendance and active participation also carry points.

Observation: note that frequent absences affect both your ability to do well on tests and your points for participation.

Book Report (2 pages, double-spaced)

Any book on Islam, the West, or the interactions among Islamic and Western ideaologies is acceptable. If not chosen from the approved book list, the book for the book report must have the instructor's approval. The book report is due on December 6, 2013. It carries 10 points. Look at Guidelines for Writing Book Reports for further information.

Tests

There will be three tests. The dates for the tests are geared to the completion of the sections of the course devoted to each main topic. The exams will cover classroom discussions, reading assignments, and oral reports. There will be no make-up tests. Exceptions will be made for hardship cases on an individual basis. The instructor should be informed of the reason for not taking the test in advance. The first test carries 10 points, test two carries 12 points, and test three 15 points. The tests altogether are worth 37 points.

Oral Report

Each student participates in the gathering and delivering of information for one oral report. The topics for reports are assigned early in the course.

 

Oral Report Delivery:

You can deliver your report without or with PowerPoint.

1.     Without PowerPoint:

After delivery, turn the text of the report in to the instructor. It should be about 2 pages double-spaced

2.     With PowerPoint:

a)     If the PowerPoint presentation is comprehensive--8 to 10 slides with full discussion accompanying each slide, illustrations, etc., that is sufficient.

b)     If you have 8-10 slides + oral notes--turn in the slides and the full text of the notes used for each slide.

Oral Reports are delivered on the day assigned. After the presentation, the text of the report is emailed by the instructor to students for the next test. Students are responsible for knowing the contents of all reports given before a test. The oral report is graded for the quality of its overall contribution to the class, delivery, and impact. The student must be ready to answer related questions asked by the class or the instructor. Failure to participate at the time assigned results in the loss of 5 points. Failure to provide final copy of your report for distribution to the class results in the loss of the rest of the points. The oral report carries 15 points. Look at Guidelines for Oral Reports for further information.

Note 1: The time limit for oral presentations is 10 minutes. After presentation, the full report must be submitted for distribution.

Note 2: If you use PowerPoint for your presentation, you MUST email it to me two days before the presentation date.

Final Paper

The paper should be 10 pages double-spaced, hard copy, and presentable. It should deal with aspects of Islam and its interaction with the cultures of the West. The paper should include an introduction, a reasonable development of the topic proposed, and a clear indication of diligent research. Look at Guidelines for Writing Papers for information on writing the paper. The paper must be submitted in hard copy and is due on December 11, 2013. The paper carries 30 points as follows:

Aspects of paper

# of points

presentability

1

relevance and originality

6

introduction

3

structure

4

content

8

conclusion

3

footnotes & bibliography

5

Total

30

Attendance

Attendance is taken by passing a roster to be legibly signed. Each absence is worth half a point. Remember to sign the attendance sheet as it circulates. If you are late, make sure to sign it at the end of class. Attendance carries 3 points.

Participation

Active participation in discussions carries 5 points.

Grading Scale:

4.0 scale

Grade

%

4.0

A

93-100

3.667

A-

84-92

3.333

B+

76-83

3.000

B

68-75

2.667

B-

59-67

2.333

C+/S

49-58

2.000

C/S

43-50

1.667

C-/S

34-42

1.333

D+

26-33

1.0

D

25

Note on Readings:

To be ordered online:

Bashiri, Ancient Iran: Cosmology, Mythology, History, Cognella, 2012, and Modern Iranian Philosophy: From Ibn Sina to Mulla Sadra Shirazi, Cognella, 2014. Order at www.cognella.com (available at bookstore only for students who have scholarship/grant money for books).

The following readings are available on E-reserve at Wilson Library:

    1. Ayubi, Nazih N. "The Muslim Brotherhood: An Overview," in John L. Espositio (ed.), The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World, vol. 4, 2009, pp.158-162.
    2. Engels, Donald W. Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army, University of California Press, 1978.
    3. Farah, Caesar. (1970, 1992). Islam: Beliefs and Practices, Barron's Educational Series.
    4. Grimal, P. (1965). "Greece: Myth and Logic," in Larousse World Mythology, Hamlyn Publishing Group Limited, pp. 97-177.
    5. Hunter, Shireen T. (ed.). Islam, Europe's Second Religion: The New Social, Cultural, and Political Landscape, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Praeger, 2002.
    6. Rogers, Michael (1976). The Spread of Islam, Elsevier Publishing.
    7. Shahid, Irfan. "Pre-Islamic Arabia," The Cambridge History of Islam, Vol. Ia, (ed. P. M. Holt, et al.), Cambridge U Press, 1970, pp. 3-29. (Listed under "Holt, P. et al.")
    8. Sullivan, Dennis J. "The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt," in John L. Espositio (ed.), The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World, vol. 4, 2009, pp. 162-167.

The following readings are available on reserve at Wilson Library:

    1. Abrahamian, Ervand. Iran Between Two Revolutions, Princeton University Press, 1982.
    2. Al-Khalil, Jim. The House of Wisdom: How Arabic Science Saved Ancient Knowledge and Gave Us the Renaissance, Penguin Books, 2010.
    3. Ayubi, Nazih N. "The Muslim Brotherhood: An Overview," in John L. Espositio (ed.), The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World, vol. 4, 2009, pp.158-162.
    4. Bashiri, Iraj. Modern Iranian Philosophy: Ibn Sina to Mulla Sadra Shirazi, Cognella Publishers, 2014.
    5. Bashiri, Iraj. Ancient Iran: Cosmology, Mythology, History, Cognella Publishers, 2012.
    6. Esposito, John L. (1991). Islam:The Straight Path, NY: Oxford University Press.
    7. Fakhry, Majid. (1970, 1983). A History of Islamic Philosophy, Columbia University Press.
    8. Farah, Caesar. (1970, 1992). Islam: Beliefs and Practices, Barron's Educational Series.
    9. Engels, Donald W. Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army, University of California Press, 1978.
    10. Grimal, P. (1965). "Greece: Myth and Logic," in Larousse World Mythology, Hamlyn Publishing Group Limited, pp. 97-177.
    11. Hunter, Shireen T. (ed.). Islam, Europe's Second Religion: The New Social, Cultural, and Political Landscape, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Praeger, 2002.
    12. Ismael, Tareq Y. and Jacqueline S. Ismael. Government and Politics in Islam, St. Martin's Press, 1985.
    13. Landen, Robert G. The Emergence of the Modern Middle East, Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1970.
    14. Mansfield, Peter. The History of the Middle East, Penguin Books, 1991.
    15. Marx, Karl and Friedrich Engels. The Communist Manifesto, with an Introduction by A.J.P. Taylor, Penguin Classics, 1967.
    16. More, Sir Thomas, Utopia,Penguin Classics, 1965 or any edition available.
    17. Nicholson, Reynold A. The Mystics of Islam: An Introduction to Sufism, Schocken Books, 1975.
    18. Orwell, George: Animal Farm,New York, New American Library, 1946.
    19. Rogers, Michael (1976). The Spread of Islam, Elsevier Publishing.
    20. Schimmel, Annemarie (1975) Mystical Dimensions of Islam, University of North Carolina Press.
    21. Shahid, Irfan. "Pre-Islamic Arabia," The Cambridge History of Islam, Vol. Ia, (ed. P. M. Holt, et al.), Cambridge U Press, 1970, pp. 3-29.
    22. Sullivan, Dennis J. "The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt," in John L. Espositio (ed.), The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World, vol. 4, 2009, pp. 162-167.
    23. The Republic of Plato, translated by Francis MacDonald Cornford, Oxford University Press, 1964 or any edition available.

The following readings are from the general collection at Wilson Library:

1.      Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia, Yale University Press.

2.      Ali, Tariq (2000). The Clash of Fundamentalisms: Crusades, Jihads and Modernity, Verso, 2002.

3.      Chambers, James (1979). The Devil's Horsemen: The Mongol Invasion of Europe, Oxford University Press.

4.      Hiro, Dilip. (1994 & 1995). Between Marx and Muhamad: The Changing Face of Central Asia, Harper Collins Publishers.

5.      Ismael, Tareq, and Jacqueline S. Ismael (1985). Government and Politics in Islam, St. Martin's Press.

6.      Lewis, Bernard (2002). What Went Wrong?, Oxford UniversityPress.

7.      Marx, Karl and Friedrich Engels. The Communist Manifesto, with an Introduction by A.J.P. Taylor, Penguin Classics, 1967.

8.      Said, Edward W. (1978). Orientalism, Vintage Books.