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This course explores the contents of the Quran and probes its place in the history of human civilization. Students will learn about and critically reflect on the following subjects: 1) the Quran’s core ideas, stories, laws, parables, and arguments; 2) the...

The Meccan Sanctuary, also known as the Kaʿba, is a focal point of worship for Muslims, who pray towards it daily and strive to make a pilgrimage to it at least once in their lifetime. This course is an advanced graduate seminar centered on a host of...

A survey of medieval Arabic writings on literary theory, from the early proponents of the Qasida form and amud al-shi'r to selected writings on muḥdath poetry. Works on both poetry and prose will be considered. Authors included: al-Jahiz, Ibn al-Mu'tazz...

Instructor: Houssem Chachia This course offers an examination of the history of the Moriscos, a population of Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula who have been forced to convert to Christianity since the early sixteenth century. The course begins with an...

Explores the major political, economic, social, and security challenges facing - and emanating from - the Middle East. Particular attention paid to the causes of the so-called Arab Spring and the prospects for genuine democratization. Explores the role of...

Instructors: Lorenzo Bondioli, Rosie Bsheer, and Cemal Kafadar Covering a whole millennium and beyond, this course privileges the long history of Palestine in order to center the continuities and breaks in the region’s past and how these shaped people’s...

This reading group offers students the opportunity to engage with current and emerging debates on Islamic law, social justice, and human rights. After a brief introduction to Islamic law and jurisprudence, we will examine legal and practical human rights...

Critically explores the historiography and interpretations of Islamic ornament. Themes include ornamentality and abstraction, theories of perception, orientalist discourses on the so-called "arabesque," resonances of non-figural abstraction with modernism...

Instructor: Ipek Sener The purpose of this course is to equip the students with the historical, theoretical and empirical knowledge to better understand the Middle East, its culture and politics. It will address a set of enduring issues in Middle East...