Islamic Political Thought

Catalog description

This course aims to introduce students to the Islamic tradition of political thought through the careful study of selected foundational political texts of Islamic civilization. Students will be exposed to the great variety of thinking about politics that has taken place in the Islamic world through close readings and in-depth discussions of specific primary texts, including the Qur'an, the writings of Muslim philosophers, theologians, historians, and literary writers in the Middle Ages. Students will be introduced to such fundamental themes as: politics and religion, the individual and the political order, wisdom and political rule, power and conquest, tradition and modernity. By establishing familiarity with the intellectual background of Muslim societies, this course fosters students' abilities to navigate an increasingly globalized world and to engage with actors from industry, government, and civil society with culturally and religiously diverse backgrounds. 001790