History and institutions of the Muslim Countries
The course will provide students with and introduction to both Islam and the history of the Muslim World, from a non-Eurocentric perspective. Special attention will be given to the evolution of the relationship between religion and politics, and to the diachronic development of the different areas of the Muslim world from the coming of Islam to the Contemporary Era, with a focus on the Middle East and North Africa.
The course will provide students with and introduction to both Islam and the history of the Muslim World, from a non-Eurocentric perspective. Special attention will be given to the evolution of the relationship between religion and politics, and to the diachronic development of the different areas of the Muslim world from the coming of Islam to the Contemporary Era, with a focus on the Middle East and North Africa.
teacher profile teaching materials
Lapidus, Ira M., A History of Islamic Societies, Cambridge University Press, 2014
Vercellin, Giorgio, Istituzioni del mondo musulmano, Einaudi, 2002;
Campanini, Massimo, Storia del Medio Oriente contemporaneo, Il Mulino, 2017
Programme
The course is aimed to provide students with an exhaustive picture of the main events in the history of Islamic countries, from the advent of the prophet Muḥammad, up to the main events that have marked the medieval, modern and contemporary ages. In order to have a greater understanding of the historical-cultural horizon in which these events unfold, monographic lessons will be provided on specific themes, i.e. on the main institutions on which the Arab-Islamic world is still built today - starting from the Holy Book of Islam, the Koran, which expresses the Law of Islam (Šarī'a), passing through the sunna (Tradition), which integrates and clarifies the Koran, and the law (fiqh) which makes the Law accessible to human kind. The lessons will be accompanied by slides to follow the historical evolution of the Arab-Islamic world on maps and charts, from pre-Islamic Arabia to the construction of medieval dār al-Islām, to supranational empires, up to national states.Core Documentation
Il Corano, introduzione, traduzione e commento di Alessandro Bausani;Lapidus, Ira M., A History of Islamic Societies, Cambridge University Press, 2014
Vercellin, Giorgio, Istituzioni del mondo musulmano, Einaudi, 2002;
Campanini, Massimo, Storia del Medio Oriente contemporaneo, Il Mulino, 2017
Type of delivery of the course
TraditionalAttendance
Attendance of lessons is recommended.Type of evaluation
Oral examination.