KHC RN 102 Moses and Muhammad: Tradition, Intertextuality, and the Great Man Ideal in Late Antiquity Short title (15 char): Moses&Muhammad Kilachand Honors College, Boston University Spring 2016 Co-­‐Instructors: Professor Michael Zank and Professor Kecia Ali Best contact for Michael Zank: Email [email protected] or call 617.353.4434. Office hours: M 2-­‐3, T 3-­‐4 Best contact for Kecia Ali: Email [email protected] or call 617-­‐XXX-­‐XXXX. Office hours T 2:30-­‐3:30, Th 11-­‐1 40-word description:
As prophets, lawgivers, and Abrahamic philosopher-kings, Moses and Muhammad inspired faith
and practice, art and politics. This course examines classical and modern interpretations of their
lives, which provided important and contested models for leaders, scholars, and reformers
through the ages.
Rationale for this course as a KHC freshman seminar (FAQ) Q: Why Moses and Muhammad? A: We (Profs Zank and Ali) have each taught a course that focused on only one of these figures, Prof. Zank on Moses (KHC101) and Prof. Ali on Muhammad (“Representing Muhammad,” RN 434). In these courses, the instructors pursued their own interests and utilized the focus on the central individual in different ways. But we share an awareness of the complex, intricate, and instructive connections between Moses and Muhammad and are excited to explore these in a joint course. Co-­‐teaching this course provides us with an opportunity to learn from one another while exposing students to two interrelated traditions. We are trained in different disciplines but bring our expertise to bear on a joint problem: the connections between ancient prophetic traditions that shaped what western culture perceives—either favorably or critically—as related models of divinely authorized rule and prophetically sanctioned human conduct. Q: Why not Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad? A: The notion that Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad are somehow equivalent or parallel figures is a fairly modern, popularized since the European Enlightenment. Traditionally, Christians vilified Muhammad and had mixed views on Moses, while they revered Jesus as God incarnate. Jews held Jesus for a fraud but held Moses in the greatest esteem without making him an object of veneration. To Muslims, Muhammad is the “seal” of all the prophets, including Moses and Jesus, as well as other figures such as Abraham. Treating Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad as equals obscures the asymmetries and actual historical, literary, and symbolic relationships between religious traditions that we, as modern students of religion, prefer to foreground. While the Jesus of the Gospels and the Muhammad of Islamic tradition may, to some degree, be shaped on (or against) the model of Moses, the parallels between Moses and Muhammad are more striking and, as the course will show, more illuminating. Q: What may students expect to learn and to gain from this course? A: Intimate knowledge of late antique religious text and historical context is an antidote to modern simplifications and distortions. Reading of primary texts and up-­‐to-­‐date analytical approaches will help students to think critically about the formation of religious traditions in general. Reading across traditions helps break down simplistic distinctions between Judaism, Islam, and—indeed—Christianity, highlights similarities between traditions, and shows the importance of the transfer of cultural knowledge. Learning about Moses and Muhammad is, furthermore, of critical importance to informed participation in civic discourse on religion in the public sphere today. Q: Is this a course for Muslims and Jews, or for believers? A: This is a course that is to show students of any background and opinion the fascination of studying religion from an academic perspective. If we want to convert anyone it is to the academic study of religion. Course Texts: Books are available for purchase at the bookstore and on reserve at the library. Although we have made an effort to include only books available in paperback for a reasonable price, the total cost of these texts may be prohibitive. We urge you to seek out used editions (several of these titles should be widely available), to purchase them from alternate sources, or to use library reserves. Whether you work from your own copy or a library copy, be sure to take good notes. ASSIGNMENTS and GRADING 25% Online weekly responses/reading journal: You will submit at least one page of comments and questions on the readings. There are no right answers here; we are only interested in your reflections on the readings. We will respond to these on a regular basis. 10% Library visit/online search: Three or four weeks into the semester we will ask you to conduct an online search and then visit a pertinent library, to produce a one-­‐page reflection on your process of discovery, as well as present to the class what you found in your search. The task will be to “find” Moses and/or Muhammad in the library. (Detailed instructions will be provided in class.) 20% Participation: We expect that everyone reads assigned readings ahead of the class meeting when they are discussed. We also want you to participate actively in class discussion of readings and subjects. You should be comfortable voicing questions or commenting on readings or debating the views presented in class by the instructors, the readings, or your fellow students. This is a seminar. 45% Research paper: In this paper you should—creatively and based on information—address any element of the Moses narrative, of a Muhammad-­‐related tradition, or create your own modern Moses/Muhammad. The process that leads to the term paper is as important to us as the final product. This process breaks down as follows: Topic/preliminary bibliography (end of week five) Abstract/outline (end of week eight) First draft due (end of week eleven) In-­‐class presentation (week fourteen) Final paper due (end of week fourteen) COURSE OUTLINE/SCHEDULE of TOPICS and READINGS Week 1 Moses in the Qur’an Read: Qur’anic passages. E.g. go to http://quran.com/ and enter “Moses” in the search window and look up passages that way. We will hand out a list of ways to do this. Week 2 The Qur’an’s relationship to the Bible Read: Selections from Brannon Wheeler, Moses in the Quran and Quranic Exegesis (on this book, see http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/3880088) Week 3 Moses in the Bible, or: How revelatory texts/events speak in different ways Read: Exodus 1-­‐34, Selections from the Book of Jubiliees and Deuteronomy 1-­‐6 In your reading journal, note the difference between direct speech (Jubilees, Qur’an) vs. third person speech (Exodus); what is the effect of this difference? what does it say about the Qur’an that it is not the first time someone “rewrote” the message in a first person speech? LIBRARY RESEARCH: Find Moses/Muhammad in the library! Week 4 Late Antique Moses: Hellenistic Philosopher-­‐King-­‐Warrior-­‐Prophet Read: Philo, Life of Moses (Book 1); excerpts (posted) from Josephus, Antiquities and Contra Apion. In your reading journal, describe how Philo and Josephus manage (differently) to present the life of Moses as that of a “great man.” What—to each of them—is the greatest virtue Moses embodies? LIBRARY VISIT PRESENTATIONS in class Week 5 Power and Piety Read: Eusebius’s Life of Constantine, Gregory of Nyssa, Life of Moses In your reading journal, comment how (on what grounds and to what ends) Eusebius stylizes Emperor Constantine as a new Moses; how does Gregory’s Life (written after Eusebius) take issue with the glorification of Constantine, and what is his counter-­‐model of a great Mosaic life based on? How does his work differ from Philo’s Life of Moses, on which it is based? TOPIC AND PRELIMINARY BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR RESEARCH PAPER due Week 6 The biography of Muhammad Read: Selections from Ibn Ishaq: the event of revelation [paying special attention to the role of Khadija], key battles, the Night Journey/Ascension (parallel Exodus 33:34) For your reading journal: comment on the life of Prophet Muhammad in comparison to the late ancient lives of Moses we have seen so far. Week 7 Ascension narratives Read: Qur’an on Ascension (Q. 17:1), selections of Ibn Abbas (from Colby, “Narrating Muhammad’s Night Journey”); Midrashic ascent narratives In your reading journal, describe how Muhammad’s ascent fits with other late antique ascent accounts. What might be the purpose of telling such a story about prophet Muhammad? Week 8 Caliphs, Popes, and Imams Moses and Muhammad as in some sense ordinary (esp. die normal deaths) as compared to Jesus and Shi‘i imams; power and infallibility Read: selections from Matt Peirce, Twelve Infallible Men (due out from Harvard spring 2016). In your journal, comment on Moses and Muhammad as paradigmatic leaders and models for later office holders (political, clerical, or combined). ABSTRACT AND OUTLINE FOR RESEARCH PAPER Week 9 Calvin: Protestantism’s new Moses, and the beginning of critical approaches Read: Selections from Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion; Spinoza, A Theological Political Treatise With a little background research on Calvin and the Protestant Reformation, consider why Moses and the Torah is drawn upon favorably by modern Protestant cities and states in establishing social order. How does Spinoza try to undermine this project, and what does he hope to establish in its place? Week 10 The invention of Religion Invention of “religions” and casting of Muhammad and Moses as “founders” Read: Selections from Stroumsa, A New Science In your journals, consider what it means (from a modern perspective) to think of Moses and Muhammad as the historical or prophetic founders of religious movements, based on the personal religious “genius” rather than immediate divine inspiration. How does this affect their position in history and vis-­‐à-­‐vis modern society? Week 11 Impostors: critique and comparison Enlightenment critique of religion, comparison as part of religious polemic, supposed “objective” comparison Read: Selections from The Three Impostors; Kecia Ali, The Lives of Muhammad – Ch. 2 and Ch. 3; selection from Syed Ahmed Khan, A Series of Essays on the Life of Muhammad (comparing Moses and Muhammad’s miracles); In your journal, comment on what might be a productive way of comparing/contrasting Moses and Muhammad. FIRST DRAFT FOR RESEARCH PAPER due. WEEK 12 Romanticizing Moses/ridiculing Muhammad: Film, imagery, and cartoons To prepare for this class, we will ask you to view several films on reserve at Geddes Language Lab or Krasker Video Library, including (among others) the B&W original Ten Commandments (1923) and 1956 remake (with Charlton Heston in the role of Moses). For your reading journal: when you review modern imagery and controversies about depicting the Prophet Muhammad, think back to the scene of Moses on Sinai and the injunction against seeing God. What can you advance in defense or critique of depicting Moses or Muhammad, respectfully, derisively, or at all? Comment on the power and effect of images in general. Week 13 Twentieth century prophets: Martin and Malcolm Read: MLK, “I have a dream” and Malcolm X, [tdb] Recommended: Zora Neal Hurston, Moses, Man of the Mountain Week 14 Wrap-­‐up In class-­‐research presentations for RESEARCH PAPER END OF SEMESTER: RESEARCH PAPER DUE Policy on Late Work and Incompletes: Late work will be penalized up to one complete letter grade for each day overdue (including weekends and holidays). Late weekly response papers/reading journals will not be accepted for credit. Paper extensions will be granted only in exceptional circumstances, and never after the original deadline has passed. Students who anticipate difficulty in meeting deadlines should contact one of the instructors as far in advance of the due date as possible. A course grade of incomplete will only be granted in cases of documented medical emergency or for an equally compelling reason. Disabilities: In accordance with University policy (see http://www.bu.edu/disability/policies/index.html), a student who requires accommodation for a documented disability of any type should meet with one of us as soon as possible to discuss appropriate modifications to course requirements or procedures. We strive to make our classroom disability-­‐friendly. The more clearly we understand what will be helpful, the better we can do that. Academic Integrity: Every student is expected to be familiar with and comply with the BU policy on academic integrity, which can be found at: http://www.bu.edu/cas/undergraduate/conductcode.html. We will refer any suspected case of academic misconduct to the Dean’s Office. Any assignment judged, after a hearing by the Academic Conduct panel, to be plagiarized will receive a grade of “0.” We will discuss plagiarism and independent work in class. Helpful resources about proper use of sources can be found many places online. About using sources responsibly (and avoiding plagiarism), see the “Harvard Guide to Using Sources” (http://usingsources.fas.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do) and Dartmouth’s RWIT page (http://writing-­‐
speech.dartmouth.edu/learning/materials/sources-­‐and-­‐citations-­‐dartmouth). The Purdue University Online Writing Lab (https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/), contains excellent advice on research and citation but also on broader topics including “Conducting Research” (https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/8/). These will be especially helpful during the writing of your research papers.