Sophomore Seminar: Origins of Islamic Political Thought

This course will survey of the development of political philosophy in the Islamic world, from its early external (primarily Greek) influences though the great debates that raged between the 9th and 14th centuries on issues such as the respective spheres of human reason and divine law, innovation vs. orthodoxy, political regimes, and the proper conduct of warfare. It will focus on the writings of major thinkers including al-Farabi, al-Ghazali, Ibn Rushd, and Ibn Khaldun, and will conclude by considering the legacies of their debates in contemporary Islamic political thought.