|
HU Credits:
2
Degree/Cycle:
1st degree (Bachelor)
Responsible Department:
Arabic Language & Literature
Semester:
2nd Semester
Teaching Languages:
Hebrew
Campus:
Mt. Scopus
Course/Module Coordinator:
Dr. Daniel Lav
Coordinator Office Hours:
By appointment
Teaching Staff:
Dr. Daniel Lav
Course/Module description:
The course is designed to introduce students to the world of the kalām, the main tradition of systematic Islamic theology. Through close readings of texts in the original Arabic students will gain familiarity with the worldview(s) of the Muʿtazila and the Ashʿarīs (and in lesser measure those of other schools), and will acquire competence in analysis of kalām argumentation. In addition to 'theology' in the strict sense (thought or speech about God) we will address as well the other fields of knowledge that make up the world of the kalām, such as ontology and epistemology.
Course/Module aims:
To instruct students in how to read classical kalām literature and to familiarize them with its theological reasoning and its technical language.
Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
1) Independently read and analyze characteristic kalām texts, and specifically:
2) To recognize technical and logical terms and employ them to map structures of argumentation;
3) To ascribe a previously unseen text to a given theological school (Muʿtazila, early Ashʿarīs, late Ashʿarīs); and
4) To recognize the relation between specific textual arguments and the fundamental premises of the author's school.
Attendance requirements(%):
100
Teaching arrangement and method of instruction:
The course is based primarily on in-class reading and discussion of kalām texts, in addition to relevant readings from secondary sources. Students will be expected to prepare carefully each reading in advance of the classroom discussion.
Course/Module Content:
Overview: The world of the kalām and its historical context
Paths of knowledge: The epistemological demands of the kalām
Conceptions of divinity and proofs for the creation of the world and the existence of God
God's attributes and the attributes of created beings
Required Reading:
Selected readings from the classical kalām literature, such as:
Ibn Mattawayh, al-Tadhkira fī aḥkām al-jawāhir waʾl-aʿrāḍ
Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī, Kitāb al-lumaʿ fīʾl-radd ʿalā ahl al-zaygh waʾl-bidaʿ
Ibn Fūrak, Mujarrad maqālāt al-Ashʿarī
Al-Juwaynī, al-Shāmil fī uṣūl al-dīn
Selected secondary literature:
Josef van Ess, "The Logical Structure of Islamic Theology" in idem. Kleine Schriften, Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2018, vol. 1, pp. 238-271.
Josef van Ess, The Flowering of Muslim Theology, Cambridge MA and London: Harvard University Press, 2006; Chapter 3 ("Theology and Science: Muʿtazilite Atomism"), pp. 79-115.
Ayman Shihadeh, "The Existence of God" in Tim Winter (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Classical Islamic Theology, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008, pp. 197-217.
Additional Reading Material:
Grading Scheme :
Essay / Project / Final Assignment / Home Exam / Referat 60 %
Submission assignments during the semester: Exercises / Essays / Audits / Reports / Forum / Simulation / others 30 %
Attendance / Participation in Field Excursion 10 %
Additional information:
|
