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New Approaches to Islamic Thought

Module description

This module prepares you for the debates in Islamic intellectual history and the study of Islamic thought . We will problematize the very notions of ‘Islam’ and thought, considering what we mean by notions such as philosophy, theology, religion, political thought, and so forth within Islamic contexts. The module will equip you with the necessary analytical tools to venture into understanding and produce your own research on Islamic thought and society. The questions will be framed within an approach of ‘decolonising Islamic studies’.

This module is part of the Islamic Studies pathway for the MA Middle East Studies programme. 

Module aims - intentions of the module

This required core seminar should provide a common foundation for the thesis research of all MA students in Islamic Studies in four key respects:

(1) to give a broad overview of several key areas of "Islamic thought" (understood as the intellectual, written formulations of various Islamic cultural traditions in various historical settings) in their actual social and historical contexts;

(2) to train students in the methods of close, critical reading appropriate to each of the specific Islamic intellectual traditions covered in this course;

(3) to acquaint students with some of the pioneering secondary studies in each selected area of Islamic thought; and

(4) to offer students an opportunity to develop their expository skills in oral, classroom presentation of their research and reading.

The actual seminar topic and assigned readings will be adjusted each year.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate comprehensive knowledge and understanding of some of the most important methodological and interpretive models in relevant areas of Islamic thought;
• 2. Critically evaluate some of the major texts and seminal thinkers (in translation) in at least two key areas of Islamic thought.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. Explain and evaluate fundamental issues, approaches and challenges in several related historical areas of Islamic thought.
• 4. Demonstrate a thorough understanding of underlying historical and social contexts within Islamic thought

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. Demonstrate advanced writing and oral presentation skills, group work and the proficiency in working with a large set of unfamiliar reading materials.
• 6. Synthesise and evaluate reading materials, and identify different methods of interpretation and analysis.

Syllabus plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

• What does the ‘Islamic’ in Islamic thought denote?
• Decolonising Islamic thought
• Philosophy as a Way of Life
• Intersectionality and Gender in Islamic Thought
• The Mystical and the Political
• Sovereignty
• Theology and Experience
• Belief and its absence
• Hermeneutics of Text and Context
• Is Islamic Thought possible?

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Shahab Ahmad, What is Islam? Princeton, 2016

Khaled el-Rouayheb and Sabine Schmidtke (ed), The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Philosophy, Oxford, 2017

Aaron Hughes, Theorizing Islam, London, 2014

Special Issue of Method & Theory in the Study of Religion, vol 24 (2012) on study of Islam

Special Issue of JAAR 2018 on Teaching Islam

Key words search

New Approaches Islamic Thought