Since this is an intensive
five-day course, full attendance and participation are absolutely necessary.
Students will be graded for participation and will lose points for
unexcused absences from class.
Students will be required to
keep a “Qur’an Journal” in a notebook that will be submitted to the
instructor in August. The journal
will have two sections. One section
will be a glossary, in which students will write down new and unfamiliar terms
and their definitions. To this end,
the student should bring the journal to class each day.
The other section of the journal will be reflective and based on
independent reading of translations of the meaning of the Qur’an.
Students are required to submit a journal with at least twenty
entries—each made on a different day. The
entries can be as short as two sentences; there is no maximum length.
The entry consists of reflections and questions about what the student
The research paper must be
on a topic approved by the instructor. An
outline and bibliography must be submitted to the instructor on the designated
date or points may be deducted from the final grade. In addition to any monographs the student may find on the
paper topic, he or she must also consult the "Index
Islamicus," the "Religion Index" or another source to search
for relevant scholarly articles. The
student is encouraged to submit a draft of the paper before the final due date.
Students should follow Hartford Seminary guidelines for writing research
papers. A copy of these guidelines are available from the course
instructor or the Dean of Students.
Students are also permitted
to submit a project instead of a paper. The
project should be a creative exercise designed to help the student further
explore the Qur’an in Muslim society. Students
wishing to submit a project must obtain prior approval from the instructor.
Research paper or project 50%
Qur’an Journal and final paper/project due August 15
Meaning of the Holy Quran. Translated
by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. Maryland: Amana Publications.
Rahman, Major Themes of the Qur’an. Malaysia: Islamic
Book Trust, 1989.
Sells, Approaching the Qur’an: the
early revelations. Ashland,
OR: White Cloud Press, 1999.
**There will also be a
packet of required readings on reserve in the library.
***All students must have
read the Introduction to the Sells book by the start of the first class.
*Please note the Friday
schedule is different from the other days in order to accommodate Friday
congregational prayers for the Muslims.
schedule (except Friday):