- Department: History
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: H
- Academic year of delivery: 2024-25
- See module specification for other years: 2023-24
Over the century following the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632, Muslims built an empire that spanned from the Atlantic Ocean to Central Asia. In this Special Subject, we will study the emergence of this empire over the seventh century, its new and evolving ideological foundations, and the social and political changes that came about as a result. The Mediterranean and Middle Eastern world into which the Muslim community emerged had long-standing traditions of empire and had for centuries been dominated by two great superpowers, the Romans and the Persians. As Muslim armies conquered these two cosmopolitan empires, they encountered a range of communities with varying ideas about government, God and communal identity. In this Special Subject, we will investigate the processes through which the early Muslim community—which remained a minority of the population across the empire—adopted and adapted these ideas over the seventh century to transform the political culture and society of the Middle East.
This Special Subject will approach the history of the formation of the first Islamic empire through seminar topics grouped around four main themes: prophecy and conquest in Semester 1, government and community in Semester 2. We will study these themes through analysis of primary sources ranging from surviving documents to grand narratives of universal history, written by members of the region’s diverse religious and linguistic communities. Through these sources, we will see that the seventh century in the Middle East witnessed a dynamic period of empire and community formation, a process of transformation to which Christians, Jews and Muslims all contributed.
Students taking this module must also take the second part in Semester 2.
Occurrence | Teaching period |
---|---|
A | Semester 1 2024-25 |
The aims of this module are:
Students who complete this module successfully will:
Students will attend a 1-hour briefing in week 1 and a 3-hour seminar in weeks 2-4, 6-8 and 10-11 of semester 1. Weeks 5 & 9 are Reading and Writing Weeks (RAW). Students prepare for and participate in eight three-hour seminars in all.
Seminar topics are subject to variation, but are likely to include the following:
Task | % of module mark |
---|---|
Essay/coursework | 100 |
None
For formative work, students will produce a text commentary.
The summative assessment will consist of two parts, to be submitted together:
a) Two text commentaries of 500-750 words; and
b) One 1,500-word essay.
The commentaries comprise 50% and the essay 50% of the overall mark for this module. Summative assessments will be due in the assessment period.
Task | % of module mark |
---|---|
Essay/coursework | 100 |
Following their formative task, students will typically receive written feedback that will include comments and a mark within 10 working days of submission.
Work will be returned to students in their seminars and may be supplemented by the tutor giving some oral feedback to the whole group. All students are encouraged, if they wish, to discuss the feedback on their formative work during their tutor’s student hours. For more information, see the Statement on Feedback.
For summative assessment tasks, students will receive their provisional mark and written feedback within 25 working days of the submission deadline. The tutor will then be available during student hours for follow-up guidance if required. For more information, see the Statement of Assessment.
For semester time reading, please refer to the module VLE site. Before the course starts, we encourage you to look at the following items of preliminary reading: