HUM 1511 - Introduction to Islam and Culture

1. Explain the basic tenets and practices of Islam as a religious tradition.
2. Identify and explain central facets in the history and geography of Muslim peoples.
3. Classify and explain diverse groups in the Muslim world today.
4. Explain and deconstruct the concept of Orientalism.
5. Analyze misconceptions of Islamic religion and culture generated by Islamophobia.
6. Identify and explain alternative, ethical and potentially fruitful approaches to understanding religion and culture.
7. Engage in research-based dialogue about a specific element of Islamic culture and religious practice.
8. Identify and explain specific ways in which individuals can build and cross bridges of understanding between United States culture and Muslim culture.

1. Major historical events in the development of Islam.
2. The impact of culture upon the beliefs and practices of Islam in diverse Muslim countries.
3. The impact of Islam upon the original cultures of countries that are now predominantly Muslim countries.
4. The rationale, and statistical representation, for different belief systems around different schools of thought found in Islam today.
5. The shared and diverse ethical precepts found within Islam.
6. Oriental discourse–what it is and the impact of it upon colonialization.
7. Interfaith and cross-cultural dialogue trends between Muslims and Jews, Christians, and Western Culture.
8. Distinct and diverse forms of peacemaking and dialogue found in Islamic history and the Islamic world today.