Islamic Studies
The Islamic studies area engages in the study of Islam as a textual tradition inscribed in history and particular cultural contexts. The area seeks to provide an introduction to and a specialization in Islam through a large variety of expressions (literary, poetic, social, and political) and through a variety of methods (literary criticism, hermeneutics, history, sociology, and anthropology). It offers opportunities to specialize in fields that include Qur’anic studies, Sufi literature, Islam and power, and contemporary manifestations of Islam. In addition to the courses listed below, students are encouraged to consult related course offerings in other areas of the Divinity School and in other university departments such as History, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, and South Asian Languages and Civilizations.
Students without an advanced degree will apply for admission to the MA program of the Divinity School. Students applying from within the University of Chicago MA program will be expected to have completed three courses in the Islamic Studies area or the equivalent (to be established by consultation and petition) by the end of the MA. All applicants for PhD admission should have a strong preparation for the study of Islam. Such preparation should include reading knowledge of classical and Modern Standard Arabic, significant background in the study of the human or social sciences, and previous coursework in Islamic history, religion, civilization, or literature. The application letter should specify the applicant’s background in the study of Arabic. If at the time of application, the applicant has not already completed the equivalent of three years of Arabic, the candidate should indicate the program of current study (including possible summer study) that will demonstrate that at the time of matriculation, he or she will have completed the equivalent of three years of Arabic.
Students at the PhD level are expected to have completed course work in advanced Arabic, in which there is a sustained engagement with Arabic primary sources, or to have carried out significant independent study at an equivalent level, before submission of a dissertation proposal. After consultation with a faculty advisor in Islamic Studies, students may petition to replace either French or German one of the major languages of literature and scholarship within Islam.
Written Examinations
The PhD qualifying examinations consist of four written examinations and an oral examination based on a research paper submitted for the occasion, in consultation with the student’s advisor in the Islamic Studies area. At least two of the four written examinations should be taken in the Area of Islamic Studies. At least one of the four examinations should be taken in an Area outside of Islamic Studies. Examinations in Islamic Studies include:
IS1-Qur’anic Studies
IS2-Sufi Literature
IS3-Modern Islam and Power
IS4-Islamic Reform and Revival (19th-20th c.)
IS5-Islamic Philosophy
Selected Courses
ISLM 35000 Modern Islam and Politics. Zeghal
ISLM 40100 Islamic Love Poetry. Sells
ISLM 40400 Sufi Poetry of Shustari, Ibn al-Farid, and Ibn al-‘Arabi. Sells
ISLM 40500 Readings in the Text of the Qur’an. Sells
ISLM 40700 Monachies in the Modern Arab World: Family Religion and Power. Zeghal
ISLM 40900 Islam and Democracy. Zeghal
ISLM 41100 Animal Spirituality in the Middle Ages. Robinson
ISLM 41800 Islamic Education: Ulema and Religious Authorities in the Twentieth Century. Zeghal
ISLM 42400 Political Islam: The State of Research. Zeghal
ISLM 42700 Interactions between Philosophy and Literature in the Middle Ages. Robinson
ISLM 42800 Women in Modern Islam. Zeghal
ISLM 43000 Anthropology of Islam in Twentieth-Century North Africa. Zeghal
ISLM 43200 Islamic Philosophy in the Middle Ages. Robinson
ISLM 43300 Comparative Mystical Literature (Islamic, Jewish, and Christian). Sells
ISLM 43400 Reform and Revival in Islam (Nineteenth-Twentieth Centuries). Zeghal
ISLM 44600 Sufis and Salafis: The State of Research. Zeghal
ISLM 50100 Writings of Ibn al-‘Arabi. Sells
ISLM 50200 Readings in Arabic Religious Texts. Sells
ISLM 50300 Arabic Sufi Poetry. Sells
