The First Centuries of Islam

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2014:

Total time commitment 102 hours

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For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

This subject examines the growth of Islamic civilisation in the period between the revelation of the Quran and the beginnings of the second Ottoman Empire in the sixteenth century. The study focuses on the Arabic and Turkish-speaking areas of western Asia, North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, and its aim is to understand the conditions in which religiously founded dynastic states appeared, the relationships between religion, power, culture and economy, and the role of ethnicity and language in the creation of political and cultural communities. On completion of the subject students should be familiar with the theories about the causes of the rise and fall of the Islamic states and understand the role of religion in integrating and disintegrating multi-ethnic states.

Students who complete this subject will

• be familiar with the theories about the causes of the rise and fall of the Islamic states.
• understand the role of religion in integrating and disintegrating multi-ethnic states, and the causes of the economic and political preponderance of the Islamic states during this period.
• be able to evaluate and make use of texts describing this period.

A primary document exercise 200 words, 50% (due Monday after end of the teaching period) and a 2000 word project, 50% (due 1 month after the end of the teaching period).

Hurdle requirement: students must attend a minimum of 75% of tutorials in order to pass this subject. Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 10% per day; after five working days, no late assessment will be marked. In-class tasks missed without approval will not be marked. All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject.

Subject readings will be available online

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

• Bachelor of Biomedicine
• Bachelor of Commerce
• Bachelor of Environments
• Bachelor of Music
• Bachelor of Science
• Bachelor of Engineering

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

Students who complete this subject will

• be able to think critically and analyse complex issues.
• develop their ability to research in depth primary materials relating to such issues.
• have an ability to present their findings orally to a class, and in effective written prose for assessment.