Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.

Jews and Muslims of the medieval Islamic world produced a vast literature reimagining and embellishing the tales of famous biblical and quranic figures like Abraham, Joseph, Moses and David. This "holy fanfiction" ranges from poems to romances, mystic parables to cutting satire. It grapples with thorny theological issues, as well as other contemporary concerns, from gender relations to coping with life as a religious minority. We will read and analyze a selection of these tales and pay particular attention to the ways they complicate conceptual boundary lines that we might have taken for granted: the line between Jews and Muslims, between popular culture and scholarly culture, between piety and entertainment.

This Freshman and Sophomore Seminar will emphasize discussion of primary sources and will meet synchronously. All readings are in English translation and will be made available through bCourses. Students may select to take the course P/NP or for a letter grade.

Requisites

• Students with 1-4 Terms in Attendance

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.