Sufism
This course offers a survey of the Ṣūfism in Islamic history – the branch of Islamic spirituality dedicated to the cultivation and pursuit of mystical and ecstatic experiences of the divine broadly conceived. Topics covered in the course include contemporary scholarly approaches to studying “mysticism” from a humanistic perspective in general and issues more particular to the study of Islamic mysticism. These include the formative movements and charismatic thinkers that gave rise to Ṣūfī discourses and practices in their medieval Islamic context, the influence of Ṣūfism on philosophy and literature in the Islamic world, and how Ṣūfī social institutions shaped and transformed not the just the spiritual lives of ordinary Muslims but also the economic and political landscape of the Islamic world.
Fall 2020
Class time & Location: 2:20-3:40 T/R - Class # 34219
GE cultures and ideas