RELI 208 will be a comparative study of militant piety known as "fundamentalism" in monotheistic communities: Jewish, Christian and Muslim, which has emerged as a reaction against scientific and secular culture. We shall consider "fundamentalism" as an essentially twentieth-century movement that has a symbiotic relationship with modernity. Today Western people have become accustomed to hearing Muslim fundamentalists inveighing against their culture, pouring scorn on such values as secularism, pluralism, democracy and human rights. In this course we will examine Muslim responses to these Western ideologies and compare them with Jewish and Christian reactions to modernization.
i. Regular attendance at the lectures (divided into two
sessions) per week. ATTENDANCE IS NOT OPTIONAL IN THIS OR ANY OTHER COURSES TAUGHT BY ME.
ii. Active participation in class discussions
iii. Reading assignments:
(1) Karen Armstrong, The Battle for God (BG)
(2) Armando Salvatore, Islam and Political Discourse of
Modernity (IPDM)(3) Lawrence Silberstein, Jewish Fundamentalism in
Comparative Perspective (JFCP)(4) Bruce Lawrence, Defenders of God (DG)
iv. Term paper (10-12 pages) on a selected topic in consultation with the instructor (25%)
NOTE TO GRADUATE STUDENTS taking this course under REL 895: Research paper (25-30 pages) on a selected topicv. A mid-term (30%), a final examination (45%) at the end of the semester
Jan 20: Which fundamentalist? Whose fundamentalism?
Readings: Lawrence, BG, 1-42
Jan 25: A General Theory on Fundamentalism
Readings: Silberstein, JFCP, 27-41
Jan 27: Common Abrahamic Roots
Readings: Silberstein, JFCP, 42-55; Lawrence, 104-119
Feb 1-3: Christian Fundamentalism
Readings: Lawrence, DG, 153-188; Armstrong, BG, 135-166
Feb 8-10: Jewish Fundamentalism
Readings: Armstrong, BG, 167-232; Silberstein, JFCP. 148-164
Feb15-17: Christian and Islamic Fundamentalism
Readings: William Sheppard, `Fundamentalism' Christian and Islamic, Religion (1987) 17, 355-378(on reserve); Armstrong, BG, 61-97
Feb22-24: Modernization through Westernization
Readings: Armstrong, BG, 98-132; Lawrence, DG, 120-152
Feb 29-Mar 2: Response of Religious Communities
Readings: Armstrong, BG, 135-166; John Voll, Fundamentalisms Observed (on reserve)
Mar 7-9: Political/Cultural Mobilization
Readings: Silberstein, JFCP, 79-93; Armstrong, BG, 232-277
Mar 23: "Islam" and "West" as Intellectual Constructs
Readings: Salvatore, IPDM, 67-79
Mar28-30: Discourse on Islam as a Religion and Power
Readings: Salvatore, IPDM, 81-112
Apr 4-6: Historical Interpretation of Islam
Readings: Salvatore, IPDM, 117-161
Apr18-20: Politicization of Islam
Readings: Salvatore, IPDM, 165-216
Apr25-27: Rethinking the Heritage
Readings: Salvatore, IPDM, 219-253
May 2: Religion in Third Millennium
Readings: Armstrong, BG, 317-371