Previous Years' Course Catalogues

This is a historical and topical survey of the origins and development of Islam. The course is primarily concerned with the life and career of Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, the teachings of the Qur'an, the development of the Muslim community and its principal institutions, schools of thought, law, theology, cultural life and mystical tradition, to about 1300 A.D.

This is a historical and topical survey of the origins and development of Islam. The course is primarily concerned with the life and career of Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, the teachings of the Qur'an, the development of the Muslim community and its principal institutions, schools of thought, law, theology, cultural life and mystical tradition, to about 1300 A.D.

This is a historical and topical survey of the origins and development of Islam. The course is primarily concerned with the life and career of Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, the teachings of the Qur'an, the development of the Muslim community and its principal institutions, schools of thought, law, theology, cultural life and mystical tradition, to about 1300 A.D.

This is a historical and topical survey of the origins and development of Islam. The course is primarily concerned with the life and career of Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, the teachings of the Qur'an, the development of the Muslim community and its principal institutions, schools of thought, law, theology, cultural life and mystical tradition, to about 1300 A.D.

A critical analysis of New Testament Resurrection texts in the context of Jewish and Greco-Roman Traditions. Book review, research paper, final colloquium.

The course deals with the Muslim communities in the contemporary world. It is primarily concerned with the study of Islamic tradition and its peoples in the last two centuries- the period of Islamic reform in the wake of Western hegemony and the efforts of the community to readjust under the challenges of the liberal and technical age. The course will attempt to answer a basic question: What is happening to the Muslim community in the technical age and how has it responded to the challenges posed by "Westernization" through "modernization" through "secularization?

The course deals with the Muslim communities in the contemporary world. It is primarily concerned with the study of Islamic tradition and its peoples in the last two centuries- the period of Islamic reform in the wake of Western hegemony and the efforts of the community to readjust under the challenges of the liberal and technical age. The course will attempt to answer a basic question: What is happening to the Muslim community in the technical age and how has it responded to the challenges posed by "Westernization" through "modernization" through "secularization?

This course is a critical examination of contemporary peace theologies as they have developed within the Historical Peace Churches (Mennonite, Brethren, Quaker, though with a primary focus on the Anabaptist/Mennonite tradition) and through ecumenical engagement. Several themes emerges. 1) There is a strong ecclesiological character to peace church theology-- the distinctive character of the community of faith is the embodiment of the peace of Jesus Christ. 2) Ecumenical contacts have shaped and deepened peace church theology just as peace church theology has prompted a broadening of the discourse of peace within the ecumenical movement, and in other Christian traditions. As ecclesiology has emerged as the central issue in the "Faith and Order" stream of ecumenism, the historical peace churches have much to offer, and to receive, in the dialogue with the peace themes as they are developing in the "Life and Work" stream of ecumenism. 3) These ecumenical engagements have led to practical proposals around Just Policing and Just Peace. 4) Whereas question of war and peace, just war and pacifism, and the nature and mission of the churched shaped earlier rounds of reflection, theologians in the peace church traditions are also examining issues of atonement, the character of God, epistemology, ecology, and global capitalism. 5) There are profound internal contradictions in the theology of the peace churches. The work of Mennonite theologian John Howard Yoder is central in the development of peace church theology, yet given his abuse of women also deeply problematic. We will consider how the structure of the peace theology of which Yoder is a primary representative masks other forms of violence, especially gendered violence that is internal to the community of faith.

This is a historical and topical survey of the origins and development of Islamic religious practices and mysticism. The course is primarily concerned with the growth of mystical tradition in Islam, the rise of asceticism, the early forms of personal piety that culminated into emphasis over mystical dimensions of Islamic religious experience and practice. The course will examine the rise of Sufi orders, the systematization of Sufi teaching and the evolution of theosophical dimensions of mysticism, and finally, the contribution of Sufism in the Islamic arts and literatures.  

This is a historical and topical survey of the origins and development of Islamic religious practices and mysticism. The course is primarily concerned with the growth of mystical tradition in Islam, the rise of asceticism, the early forms of personal piety that culminated into emphasis over mystical dimensions of Islamic religious experience and practice. The course will examine the rise of Sufi orders, the systematization of Sufi teaching and the evolution of theosophical dimensions of mysticism, and finally, the contribution of Sufism in the Islamic arts and literatures. Lectures, readings and class discussions. Annotated bibliography 15%, oral presentations 25%, project (research paper) 35%, project presentation 10% and class participation 5%.

This course offers a historical and topical survey of the origins, development, and variegated expressions of Islamicspiritual practices and mysticisim. The course is primarily concerned with the growth of mystical tradition in Islam and the forms of personal piety that culminated into emphasis over mystical dimensions of Islamic religious experience and practice. The course will examine the rise of Sufi orders, the systematization of Sufi teaching and the evolution of theosophical dimensions of mysticism, and finally, the contribution of Sufism in the Islamic arts and literatures. Students will be introduced to a variety of Sufi Texts in translationand academic essays from a variety of cultural and linguistic zones.

This course is an introduction to !slamic spirituality with a focus on Su'fism, often referred to as the "mystical" tradition of Islam. It -offers a historical and topical survey of the tradition's foundational beliefs, practices, and variegated expressions. The course will examine the rise of Sufi orders, the systematization of Sufi teaching and the evolution of theosophical dimensions of Sufism, antj fiha!ly, the contribution of Sufism in the Islamic arts and literatures. A main concern is to foster an understanding of some of.the stations and states experienced by the wayfarer on th.e spiritual path, as reflected in Sufi writings. Students will have the opportunity to peruse a variety of Sufi texts in translation from different cultural and linguistic zones.