Koran Readings [ LGLOR2681 ]

At least one year of Classical and/or Modern Standard Arabic. Knowledge of another Semitic language is helpful.
 

This course deals with the Koran text, its scholarly analysis and the study of its main contextual issues according to scholarly standards. Themes will be defined in accordance with the tutor's research agenda and the students' own interests.
Texts will be read and commented upon from grammatical, philological and contextual viewpoints, with reference to relevant studies.
Possible subjects of study:
- Koran verses used in Islamic ritual (pilgrimage, fast, prayer etc.);
- passages often quoted in political, legal and social contexts (position of women, geopolitical developments, social issues);
- diversity in Koran exegesis (e.g., philological, mystical, philosophical, legalist, modernist and political interpretations);
- the Koran text and the historical relations between Islam and other religions, particularly Christianity;
- new theories on Jewish, Christian and other influences on the shaping of the Koran text.

At the end of the course, the student should have acquired :
- knowledge of the structure, the composition, the contents and the historical and anthropoligical contexts of the Koran ;
- knowledge of the formal aspects of the Koran text ;
- basic knowledge of the problematics of traditional and modern Koran exegisis ;
- basic knowledge of the scholarly approach of modern Koranic studies ;
- research skills and a critical attitude as relevant for Koranic studies ;
- the communication skills required to orally present the findings of a small-scale research project on an aspect of the Koran text.