Ph.D. Track: Islamic Studies

The Ph.D. track in Islamic Studies in NES focuses on the textual traditions of classical Islamic civilization.  Students are expected to acquire familiarity with the legal, ethical, and mystical traditions of Islam through coursework and independent studies.  The one required course for this track (in addition to NES 595D) is a seminar in Qur’anic Studies, and students are encouraged to take, “The Anthropology of Religion” (ANTH 511).  Courses of interest for students in the Islamic Studies track include: 

ARB 595B: Readings in Classical Arabic Prose
ARB 595C: Readings in Classical Arabic Poetry
NES 503: Art and Architecture of the Islamic World
NES 544: Islamic Mysticism
NES 545: Women in Islamic History
NES 566: The Middle Eastern City and Islamic Urbanism
NES 572: History of Medieval India
NES 579: The Ottoman Empire to 1800
NES 596B: Classical Persian Literature in English Translation
NES 596G: Islamic Law and Society
NES 696Y: Islam, Ethnicity, and Nationalism

Independent study reading courses can be arranged on topics related to tafsir, hadith literature, biographical dictionaries, Islamic theology, Islamic origins, and select classical scholars.  All students in the Islamic Studies track are expected to have a solid grasp of Marshall Hodgson’s magisterial work, The Venture of Islam, by the time of their Comprehensive Examination.

Contact Professor Scott Lucas (sclucas@email.arizona.edu) for more information.

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