HIS 2607F: The History and Civilization of Medieval Islam

The Muslim world is at the centre of international and national attention as worldwide awareness of its weight and importance grows.  This course is designed to respond to the mounting academic and public interest in the history of Islamic societies, and on the university level to address misconceptions and ignorance about Islamic history in a scholarly manner. I intend this survey course to be the foundational course for the proposed Islamic History and Culture module currently under consideration.

The course will introduce students to the main events and themes of Islamic history and civilization and their place in world history. The course will begin with the seventh century Arab sweep across the Middle East and the creation of a new religion, Islam. The newly established Islamic states, which supplanted the Roman, Persian and Byzantine empires in parts of Europe, Africa and Asia, created a new civilization, no less sophisticated and brilliant than its predecessors. The survey will cover the important achievements of the Islamic world, counting topics such as:  Muhammad and the Qur'an, the conquest movement, the Islamic legal system, the economy, social structure and political institutions, literature, philosophy, theology, art and architecture, medicine and science, interaction with Europe, the Crusades, trade, and the translation of Arabic scientific works into Latin. The course is based on the instructor’s lectures and on readings from secondary and primary sources.

Required Texts

MATERIALS (Mandatory):

-Vernon O. Egger, A History of the Muslim World to 1405. The Making of a Civilization. (Pearson Prentice Hall, New Jersey,  2004)

-Oxford Islamic Studies online (Gain access through the UWO Library website)

-Mary Lynn Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing In History, Sixth Edition. (Bedford/St.Martin’s, 2010)

OR

William Kelleher Storey and Towser Jones, Writing History. A Guide for Canadian Students, Third Edition. (Oxford University Press, Canada, 2011)

Evaluation