Islam · Religion
A general history of Islam, an overview of the Qu'ran and Hadith/Sunna, the religious practices of early and modern Muslims, current affairs related to Islam (with a focus on misconceptions about the religion and those who practice it)
Four essays, each worth 25%, some classes get a final exam.
The workload is manageable and I only ever felt overwhelmed by the midterm book report, but that’s mostly because I left it for the night before it was due Your grade is broken up as follows: 4 In-Class Quizzes: 20% 8 Reading Responses: 20% Take-Home Midterm Book Review: 25% Final: 35%
70-100+ pages of reading a week, along with a written response. Most of my responses ended up being 4-6 pages. You have two free passes a semester (use them wisely!). If you do not use your passes, Professor Haider will drop your lowest two response scores. There is a 5-7 page final paper and a project within the first month of class. The project is a creative project, and is rather fun.
Learned a lot, both in factual knowledge and different perspectives.
This class is terrible. Granted, Professor Awn warns you during drop week that his class is difficult, but drop it as soon as you can despite any interest you have in Islam. There is an abundance of reading, that the material is ambiguous and that the essay topics are difficult to analyze. HOWEVER, he does not tell you that the abundance of required and recommended readings are UNNECESSARY for an 2000 level, undergraduate course. His lectures are pompous God forbid you choose to be a Catholic! The worst part of this class, as anyone who has ever taken it can tell you, is that bad essay grades are inevitable. NO MATTER what you do or how great your general theses are, they are never developed enough to receive an A. Additionally, you only have four papers each worth 25% (at least, that's what happened in my class), so if you get a C or a D on one of them, you're doomed. By the way, the class average is usually a 75. He does not curve. He does not simplify anything, he's an unreasonable grader, and there is an unnecessary amount of reading. (I'm not talking articles here, I'm talking about having to read the entire Qu'ran.) On a good note, the TA's are amazing. People would most definitely fail this class if they did not exist. I'm definitely not the first to advise others not to take this class; it's awful. I recommend taking Intro to Islamic Civilization instead.
Professor Ivanyi is one of the nicest professors out there. She is genuinely enthusiastic about this subject and sports a smile throughout every lecture. Overall, her lectures are organized and broken down into the simplest possible terms, which I found to be especially helpful since I had very little prior knowledge of the subject. She will always write down important vocabulary terms on the chalkboard and explain their meaning and significance. If you take no other notes in this class, at the very least be sure to write down the definition of these terms (they will make up a majority of the vocabulary that appears on the quizzes). The reading is, more often than not, helpful but not always necessary. However, it is very diverse and usually quite interesting, so I wouldn’t rule it out altogether. I both enjoyed this class and learned a great deal from it. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to fulfill a global core requirement or simply to expand their knowledge of world religions.
Wow! Professor Haider is really wonderful. I am a religion major and signed up for his course as part of the major. I thoroughly enjoyed the course! While the workload may seem like a lot, you end up learning a lot. Professor Haider (or his TA in discussion sections) makes sure to address the readings. He is an absolutely incredible lecturer-- Professor Haider has both the ability to explain things with depth and clarity, as well as maintain a high energy level that keeps the class engaged. Professor Haider is someone who constantly pushes you to think critically, be it during class discussions or in your weekly response. My writing and my way of approaching sources has changed for the better having been in his class. Overall, I highly recommend taking this course!
Islam in the Eyes of the West, Muhammad and his Succession, the Sacred Sources of Islam, Schools of Islamic Law and Institutions of Learning, Islamic Rituals, Muslim Empires, Sufism, Women and Gender in Islam, Colonialism, Islamic Modernism, and Salafism
An absurd amount of reading, most of which you can skip if you're short on time/energy. Four eight-page essays. Final and midterm which only matter if you're between two grades. Mandatory weekly discussion section.