DePaul University :: Islamic World Studies

Structure of the Islamic World Studies Major

The Islamic World Studies Program requires 13 courses (52 quarter hours) and one year of Arabic. The courses are distributed as follows: six core courses, six major electives (including one course with an experiential learning component), and one capstone course. The six core required courses are: Introduction to Islamic World Studies, two courses in Islamic History, Introduction to the Texts of Islam, Islam in Global Contexts, and Studies in Demography. Students are required to complete one year of Arabic and the capstone as program requirements, leaving students with six electives to be selected in consultation an advisor, three of which must be at the 300 level. In addition, one of these electives must include an experiential learning component. Within the program, such electives include Islam in Chicago (a service-learning course), two Study Abroad courses, and a number of courses incorporating community-based or service-enhanced projects.

Core: Students are required to complete six core courses as an introduction to the field. These courses will provide basic knowledge about the Islamic world as a foundation for more in-depth study.

(NEW) IWS 100: Introduction to Islamic World Studies. This course is the introductory course to the program, as it covers the varying approaches to studying the religion, history, and cultures of Islam. Students are first introduced to the concept of Islamic World Studies with brief explorations of the central texts, The Qur'an, Hadith literature (reports of the actions and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad), and Shari'ah (the law of Islam governing acts that is derived from the Qur'an and Hadith). Students will also become acquainted with major Muslim cultures, such as Chinese, Middle Eastern, African, South East Asian, and South Asian.
(NEW) IWS 101: Introduction to Islamic Texts. This course will provide a survey of the major texts of Islam focusing on major themes. Here students will get a more in-depth study of The Qur'an, Hadith, Sira (the life of the Prophet Muhammad), and the Shari'ah.
HST 223: History of the Muslim World I. Foundation of First Global Civilization (600-1100). A study of the emergence of Islam and the growth of the Islamic community from the time of the Prophet Muhammad until the end of the eleventh century.
One of the following:
- HST 224: History of the Muslim World II. Sultans, Khans and Shaykhs: Medieval Islamic History (1000-1500). A survey of Muslim history from the decline of the Arab caliphate to the rise of the great gunpowder empires, addressing themes of political expansion, military slavery, and devastation brought about by the twin plagues of the Mongols and the Black Death, and the growth of Islamic mysticism.
- HST 225: History of the Muslim World III. Great Empires (1400-1920). Examines the social, cultural and economic histories of the Ottoman-Turkish, Safavid Iranian and Mughal-Indian empires which dominated the Muslim world in the crucial centuries between the end of the Mongol empire and the advent of European dominance.
REL 266: Islam in America. This course explores Islam in the United States beginning with the African Slave Trade and ending in present day. Muslims in the United States come from all over the world and from this country as well. Our survey will begin with the slave trade; move through the retentions on the part of Americans of African descent; jump to the 20th Century and try to simultaneously examine Islamic communities among Americans of African descent and immigrants; explore Muslim organizations and explore Muslim American's political and social stances. This course will now also include an examination of the Muslim community in the United States since the events of September 11, 2001. This course is service enhanced.
MAT 391: Studies in Demography. The course introduces students to the study, by statistical methods, of human populations in terms of type of data sources, population composition, growth, fertility, mortality, morbidity, health, migration, and urbanization. In addition, the course has a major research component, which emphasizes comparative studies of current population characteristics and trends in developed and developing countries using up-to-date United Nations published reports. Prerequisites: Quantitative Reasoning or consent of instructor.
- Note: Demography is an important part of the IWS program for several reasons. First, any program dealing with international communities requires a demographic component. Second, we have understood quantitative reasoning to be a necessary part of any qualitative study. It is important that programs begin to incorporate it.
(NEW) IWS 3XX: Capstone Seminar. The capstone course, as a culminating experience, will be developed to connect knowledge gained in the major with Liberal Studies requirements.

Modern Language Requirement: The program requires 12 quarter hours of modern standard Arabic. Students will normally take Arabic 101, 102, and 103 to meet this basic requirement of one year of university-level beginning Arabic language study. Modern languages at DePaul University currently offers two full years of Arabic language study, and it is strongly recommended that the second year may be taken for elective credit.