REL 108 - The Qur’an

FDR: HU
Credits: 3
Planned Offering: Fall 2014 and alternate years

This course approaches the Qur’an from a range of modern and pre-modern perspectives: as an oral recitation; as a material object; as a historical document; as a literary text; as it relates to the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament; as a foundation for Islamic law, theology and mysticism; and as a source for ethics and social activism. Particular attention is devoted to issues of gender and politics raised by the Qur’an, supplemented by a number of film screenings. Prior knowledge of Islam is not required. Blecher.