RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS AND TRENDS IN THE ISLAMICATE WORLD

The course "I MOVIMENTI E LE CORRENTI RELIGIOSE DEL MONDO ISLAMICO (Religious Movements and Currents of the Islamicate World)" is part of the related and supplementary training activities of the Degree Course in "Languages, Cultures and Societies of Asia" and of Mediterranean Africa (LICSAAM)".
The teaching contributes to the achievement of the educational objectives of the Degree Course in the area of cultural and humanistic skills.
The aim of the course is to give a general survey on the history of Islam and its political and religious currents and denominations for students interested in the languages spoken in North Africa and the Middle East (Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Hebrew) and in the knowledge of the complex political and religious dynamics of the area under study.

Upon completion of the course students will be able to:
1) define the main facts which characterize the history of Islam;
2) possess a basic terminology related to the various political and religious denominations of Islamic history and its thought structures. This will enable students to be familiar with the main theoretical issues related to the world of Islam;
3) comprehend the main themes of Islamic religious and political history.

No previous knowledge in the field is required.

The origins of Islam: sources and methodology; The Prophet, The Koran, the Community, the Calipahte.
The concept of "orthodoxy" and the various forms of political and religious dissent: Sunnites, Shiites, Kharijites, Druzes, 'Alawites, Wahhabites

L. Capezzone, M. Salati. L'ISLAM SCIITA. STORIA DI UNA MINORANZA. Roma: Edizioni Lavoro, 2006.

One of the following texts:
F. Donner, MAOMETTO E LE ORIGINI DELL'ISLAM. Piccola Biblioteca Einaudi, 2010.
M. Campanini, STORIA DEL PENSIERO POLITICO ISLAMICO. DAL PROFETA MUHAMMAD AD OGGI. Mondadori Education, 2017
R. Pepicelli, FEMMINISMO ISLAMICO. CORANO, DIRITTI, RIFORME. Roma: Carocci editore, 2010.

The exam consists of a 20 to 25-minute oral exam including a series of questions (approximately 4-5 questions) on the topics covered during the course and on the suggested texts, chosen by the student.
The exam aims at verifying the student's competence in the main themes of Islamic civilization, and the most relevant religious-political currents and institutions.

oral

Regarding the grading scale (how grades will be assigned), regardless of attending or non-attending mode:

28-30L: the student masters the topics presented in the course and in the assigned readings; he is capable of hyerarchizing information and makes use of a convenient scientific terminology;
26-27: the student has a good knowledge of the topics presented in the course and - to a lesser extent - in the assigned readings; he generally succeeds in hyerarchizing information and is familiar with scientific terminology;
24-25: the student does not always know thoroughly topics presented in the course and in the assigned readings; his oral exposition is clear, although concepts are not always expressed through a convenient scientific terminology;
22-23: the student has a mostly superficial knowledge of the topics presented in the course and in the assigned readings; his oral exposition is not always clear and generally lacks scientific terminology;
18-21: the student has a very superficial knowledge of the topics presented in the course and in the assigned readings; his oral exposition is confused and does not resort to scientific terminology.

The course is comprised of fifteen classroom-taught lectures.