Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Spring 2018
Time: Wednesday 3:30-6:00pm
Location: New Cabell Hall 364
This course examines Muslim-Christian relations in the classical era, focusing on polemical
texts. We will examine Muslim and Christian attempts to explain and attack the beliefs and
practices of the other while defending their own beliefs and practices. We will read both primary
and secondary sources and gain a better sense of the milieu in which these debates and dialogues
were taking place. This is a seminar and you are expected to attend regularly, complete the
assigned material, and be prepared for each class. Every person in the class is responsible for
contributing to the discussion. The culmination of the course is a research paper that requires
careful research and thorough editing.
Readings: All readings will be provided in translation and will be available online, on reserve at
the Alderman Library, or on UVa Collab in PDF. Readings are listed in the syllabus, but there
might be times we diverge from the stated texts (I will give you sufficient warning if this is the
case). Also, while the whole text is often listed in the syllabus, much of the time I will want you
to only read or focus on specific selections. Graduate students will occasionally be assigned
additional readings and asked to provide brief synopses of them to the class.
Attendance – I expect you to be present in class. This is a seminar and your attendance is
important to ensure the success of the class. Please inform me (as soon as possible) of any
planned absences. In the event of an unplanned absence, please let me know as soon as possible
if something prevents/prevented you from coming to class.
Participation – In addition to attending, it is important that you come to class prepared. I expect
you to complete the required readings and come prepared to discuss them. While everyone will
be required to do the reading and engage in discussion each class session, graduate students will
each choose one class to provide guiding questions from the readings for that class session.
Questions for the week’s readings will be due the Monday before class. Students will also take a
more active role in facilitating discussion on the day for which they are providing questions.
Presentation – During the semester, you will be working on a research paper and will be
required to present your research to the class at the end of the semester. Details about the
presentation will be provided later in the semester.
Research Paper – You will be required to write a research paper that will be due by 11:59pm on
May 11th. There are deadlines throughout the semester for the different components of the paper
that will help you achieve the best possible outcome for your paper. Undergraduate students’
papers should be 15 pages and graduate students’ papers should be 20 pages.
Evaluation:
Attendance: 20%
Participation: 30%
Presentation of research: 10%
Research Paper: 40%
Students with documented disabilities: Students with disabilities documented by the Learning
Needs Evaluation Center will be given reasonable accommodations to complete required
assignments. If you have a circumstance that may affect your performance, please see me as
soon as possible so that we can make the proper arrangements.
Academic Integrity: I trust every student in this course to comply fully with all the provisions
of the UVa honor system. Plagiarism is considered a violation of the honor code. Plagiarism
constitutes any attempt to take credit for work done by another person. All scholars must rely
upon the work of others to shape their own knowledge and interpretations. In your writing, you
must acknowledge the importance of other works through footnotes and/or direct textual
references to books, articles, and ideas. Failure to acknowledge the work of others, or
transposing sentences, words, and concepts into your own work without using quotation marks
or citations, may constitute plagiarism.
Class Schedule
February 21: Early Muslim Polemic: Ibn al-Layth, al-Jāḥiẓ, and al-Ṭabārī
Due: Preliminary Prospectus
1. Ibn al-Layth, Risalah. (Selections) Translation by Clint Hackenburg.
2. CMR – “Ibn al-Layth,” 347ff.
3. Fletcher, Charles D. "Anti-Christian Polemic in Early Islam: A Translation and
Analysis of Abū 'Uthman 'Amr b. Bahr al-Jāḥiẓ's Risala: Radd 'alā al-Naṣārā (A
Reply to the Christians)." M.A., McGill University, 2002.
4. CMR, “al-Jāḥiẓ,” 706ff.
5. ʿAlī al-Ṭabarī’s Radd, (Selections)
6. CMR – “ʿAlī al-Ṭabarī,” 669ff.
7. Goddard, A History of Christian-Muslim Relations, 50-78.