Bible and Quran as Political-Cultural Texts

Course goals

By the end of this course, students will:

1. have a basic understanding of the political and cultural context in which the Bible and the Qur'an originated and how these books are structured;
2. have knowledge of some influential readings of the Bible and the Qur'an, both past and present;
3. recognize how the Bible and the Qur'an have been used, both past and present, to defend, shape, or reject political and cultural positions;
4. be able to use academic text editions and scholarly commentaries;
5. be able to design and conduct a textual study of Biblical and Qur'anic motifs and content based on a political, cultural, and religious studies research question.

Content

This course is structured around three elements that are addressed circularly within each theme:

- the background of the Bible and the Qur'an (political and cultural context of the origins of these texts, content, composition, and structure);
- the study of the Bible and the Qur'an (political-cultural themes in exegesis, Biblical/Quranic scholarship, and how these are shaped by their contexts);
- the application of the Bible and the Qur'an (the use of texts for one's own purposes, their intertwining with political ideology, the influence of/on culture, the role of gender, etc.).