St. Robert’s Hall 354
Section 2: Tuesdays, 7:15 to 9:45 pm
Professor:
Amir Hussain
Office: University Hall, Room 3724
Phone: (310) 338-5987 (or Department of Theological Studies at 338-7670)
Fax: (310) 338-1947
Email: amir.hussain@lmu.edu
Web Page: http://myweb.lmu.edu/ahussain/
Office Hours: Tuesdays, 1:30 to 6:30 pm; Thursdays, 1:00 to 2:00 pm
“Tell them that I have always tried not to have just members of a group —Christians, or Muslims, or Canadians— but the whole world”.
—Wilfred Cantwell Smith to CSUN, 2000
Course Description:
This course will introduce graduate students to the Islamic religious tradition, and to the study of interfaith dialogue. The first part of the course will be an introduction to Islam and the lives of Muslims. We will then move to the study of interfaith dialogue for the second part of this course. That will involve a close reading of the work of Wilfred Cantwell Smith, one of the major scholars of religion and interfaith dialogue in the twentieth century. The final part of the course will involve students in the seminar directing the discussion to issues that are important to them.
Student Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this course students will 1) demonstrate that they will think both empathetically and critically about Islam and Muslims; 2) demonstrate knowledge of the principles and practice of interfaith dialogue; 3) demonstrate that they have the ability to interpret texts and other cultural phenomena (such as rituals, myths, architecture) that have religious presuppositions or implications; 4) demonstrate that they will think both empathetically and critically about conflicting religious claims; and 5) through class participation and written assignments have improved their verbal and written skills.
“Rather, his example —what he lived, taught, recommended, and inspired— was to stay firmly grounded in one’s own tradition (not dogmatically, but honestly, openly), and, from there, to reach across to those in other traditions —to speak to them, to love them, to celebrate life’s personal plurality. To be bettered, not lessened, by differences”.
—Brian Cantwell Smith on his father, 2000
Required Texts:
Amir Hussain, Oil and Water: Two Faiths, One God. Kelowna: Copper House, 2006.
Kenneth Cracknell, Editor, Wilfred Cantwell Smith: A Reader. Oxford: Oneword Publications, 2001.
Lecture Outlines and Readings Supplied by the Professor.
Evaluation:
It is important for each student to know at the outset that this course requires daily reading, two book reviews, a research project and presentation. Moreover, regular class attendance and participation are required. Clear, grammatically correct composition and standard spelling are expected on all written assignments. Written assignments should be proofread and edited before being submitted for grading.
Information on the book reviews and the research project (which will be on a topic of the student’s choice, in consultation with the instructor) will be provided separately during the course. Regular attendance and timely handing-in of the written assignments are mandatory. The dates for handing-in each assignment are given below. Active class participation will positively affect the student’s final grade. More than one unexcused absence during the semester will negatively affect the student’s grade. The University’s grading policy, including the plus/minus system, will be used. The University’s policy on Academic Dishonesty will be followed in this course.
Grades will be determined as follows:
15% A review of not more than 5 pages on the Hussain book.
15% A review of not more than 5 pages on the Smith reader.
40% A research project of not more than 20 pages.
30% Seminar participation.
“Normally persons talk about other people’s religions as they are, and about their own as it ought to be”.
—Wilfred Cantwell Smith, 1962
Schedule of Classes:
Schedule of Classes: Jan. 9: “Too much heaven on their minds”. What are we doing in this course and why? Methodological issues in this course. Islam, Muslims and the American media. READING: Photocopied handouts: “An Accidental Theologian” by Amir Hussain; “Remarks” by Brian Cantwell Smith; “The Comparative Study of Religion” by Wilfred Cantwell Smith. Oil and Water, Chapter 1.
Jan. 16: “Other voices, other rooms”. Introducing Islam and Muslims. Seminar projects. Pre-Islamic Arabia to the time of Muhammad. Muhammad: The Beloved Prophet. READING: Oil and Water, Chapters 2 and 3.
Jan. 23: The Qur’an. READING: Oil and Water, Chapter 4.
Jan. 30: The religious practices of Islam: The hadith of Gabriel. Islam (submission), Iman (faith) and Ihsan (doing what is beautiful). READING: Oil and Water, Chapter 5.
Feb. 6: The religious practices of Islam continued: The hadith of Gabriel revisited. Islam (submission), Iman (faith) and Ihsan (doing what is beautiful). READING: Oil and Water, Chapter 5.
Feb. 13: Book Review Due on Oil and Water. Video on women in Islam. Women and Islam. The impacts of Feminism on Islam. READING: Oil and Water, Chapter 7.
Feb. 20: Sufism: The mystical dimension of Islam. READING: Oil and Water, Chapter 8.
Feb. 27: Contemporary Islam in the United States: Malcolm X, Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam. READING: Oil and Water, Chapter 6.
March 6: No Class Due to Spring Break
March 13: The role of Islam in Canada and the United States. The study of Islam after September 11, 2001. Muslim – Christian Dialogue. READING: Oil and Water, Chapters 9 and 10.
March 16: Last day to withdraw from classes or apply for credit/no credit grading
March 20: Wilfred Cantwell Smith: An introduction. READING: “The Scholar’s Scholar” by William Graham; Wilfred Cantwell Smith: A Reader: pp. I to 26. Wilfred Cantwell Smith on history and comparative religion. READING: The Historian and The Comparativist.
March 27: Wilfred Cantwell Smith: Theoretical terms. READING: The Critic and The Theorist.
April 3: The place of theology in the study of religion. READING: The Theologian; The Missiologist; and The Prophet.
April 10: Book Review Due on Wilfred Cantwell Smith: A Reader. Seminar Presentations
April 17: Seminar Presentations
April 24: Last Date to Hand In Research Project. Seminar Presentations