“… As the Islamic tradition developed within its own terms, it was likewise interacting with other cultural traditions which were already present among the populations in which Islam was adopted. No tradition is isolable from others present in the same social context. (A culture, indeed, may be defined as a complex of interdependent traditions.) A creative event in any sphere of life is likely to have consequences in many fields; in any case, the interaction and dialogue in religious or artistic or political or scholarly settings overlap and merge … Islam found itself in a vital and multiple cultural environment. It was only as it entered into these other dialogues, in fact, that it could become significant for cultural life at large…” [1]
Write an essay that discusses this paragraph within the framework our class discussions, lectures, and your readings (both primary and secondary sources). I expect you to refer to a variety of historical phenomena (political, military, social, economic, scientific, linguistic, cultural, etc.) that shaped the Islamic civilization, as it interacted with other cultural traditions in general terms from the early days of Islam up to ~1258 C.E. The point of the exercise is to make you think about the history of the Islamic world and write a coherent essay that brings together various historical issues we discussed throughout the semester. I do not recommend the use of secondary sources for your essay. I am rather concerned with your interpretation based on your knowledge of the history of the Islamic world.
– Please don’t quote from other sources. If you absolutely need to quote a source, please give proper citation with footnotes and bibliography.
– Don’t copy and paste from the textbook just paraphrase
– Think about only the first 5 century’s
– In the thesis mention what are you going to talk about and your argument or arguments. Long enough to give the general word frame of the paper.
– 40% of the grade will be on your argument and 40% on how you support your argument.
