We are happy to announce that the new website (you’re looking at it!) has gone live and that the second semester of virtual-learning is well underway. We wanted to use this opportunity to bring you an update on the DISC program. We have been lucky this semester to offer two new courses focused on Islamic Studies in a global context. Stay tuned for updates on spring, summer, and fall course offerings as they are posted to our courses page.
The first course, The Crusades, is taught by Penn State University professor Jonathan Brockopp and shared with Michigan State University. Professor Brockopp specializes in the literary remains of early Islamic cultures, including the Qur’an, hadith, legal and theological texts. His course serves as an introductory survey of the so-called holy wars of the High Middle Ages and studies these conflicts as a response of Islamic society within Medieval Europe. See the video below for a special message from the Prof. Brockopp himself.
The second course we are offering, titled Mystics and Saints in Islam, is taught by Valerie J. Hoffman at the University of Illinois and also shared with Michigan State University. This course focuses on Sufi mysticism as one of the most important aspects of Islamic religious life and asks questions like How have Sufis lived in the past and is the way of life sustainable today? Professor Hoffman is the Head of the Department of Religion at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Campaign and has extensive experience teaching courses on all aspects of Islamic thought and practice. To watch a video on her course, please click here.