Islam Mystical Trad: Sufism

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

The course aims to introduce students to one of the central intellectual and institutional dimensions of the Islamic religious tradition: Sufism. Sufism is a discipline, an experience, an intellectual tradition, a social phenomenon, a reform movement, a literary heritage, and much more. Themes include: the Sufi mystical experience; its relation to scripture, communal orthodoxy, the revealed law, and philosophy; the role of desire, the will and imagination in the Sufi experience, as well as the role of poverty and sexuality; institutional and popular forms of Sufism; Sufism as a force for social and religious reform and as a moral and economic model for society; Sufism and the modern world.