This course will give students an overview of the main tenets, historical development, and principal institutions of Islam over the centuries.  It will discuss what ‘Islam' itself has meant, and means, to believers and non-believers. While this course will not be driven by chronology, it will assess the relative importance of thematic factors as they emerged in specific time periods. Such factors will include the place of doctrine, the ‘invention' of tradition, the establishment of and challenges to legal and political order, and the nature of religious authority.

This course aims to acquaint students with relevant scholarly literature, but will do so by concentrating specifically on the literature on Islam as a corpus of norms and code of conduct.  It will thus provide an introduction to the controversies and schools of thought in the general field, consider the interaction between doctrine and history, and encourage students both to question conventional assumptions and to recognise the diversity of Muslim thought and experience.

In this course students will develop or extend their knowledge and understanding of:

1. key issues concerning the development of Islam and its emergence as a world religious and social force;

2. the ways in which Muslims themselves have viewed their own faith and history over time;

3. critical debates about, and schools of thought on, the meaning of key normative practices, such as Islamic law, jihad, and pilgrimage; and

4. the relationship between doctrine and context in Muslim societies.

 1 x 4,000 - 5,000 word essay                               50%

 1 x in-class presentation                                     10%

 1 x 3 Hr exam at end of semester                        40%

With the agreement of the course convener, students may request a variation to the assessment procedure if they are studying from outside Canberra and/or they are in full-time employment and expect especially heavy work obligations during the semester or are likely to have to travel for an extended period for work. Such varied assessment must remain consistent with the College's Guidelines for Word Limits on Assessment (http://cass.anu.edu.au/current-students/rules-and-policies).

Ernst, C.W.  Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World.  Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2004.  

Lapidus, I.M.  A History of Islamic Societies.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2nd edn., 2002.

Ruthven, M.  Islam in the World.  London; Penguin, 2nd edn., 2000.