Type of Credit: Elective
Credit(s)
Number of Students
This course introduces to the post-graduate students at the master level the conventions and styles of academic writings, with the aim to familiarise them with the purpose, structure and language of an academic essay or dissertation and help them to formulate a research question and development of an argument in accordance with the academic convention. In addition, this course guides students through a number of conceptualisation issues related to Islamic and Middle Eastern/Central Asian Studies and the approaches to them through a number of themes and topics.
能力項目說明
By the end of the semester, students will, ideally and presumably, 1) be familiar with several common citation and referencing styles; 2) learn how to use one or a few of them manually or with the aid of a citational tool; 3) have the ability to cite the sources of information per a certain style guide; 4) learn to formulate a suitable research question, collect the sources and/or data on the given question, and develop an argument on the given question; and, finally, 5) have an adequate understanding of a number of key debates, conceptual issues, and approaches pertaining to Islamic and Middle Eastern/Central Asian studies.
| 教學週次Course Week | 彈性補充教學週次Flexible Supplemental Instruction Week | 彈性補充教學類別Flexible Supplemental Instruction Type |
|---|---|---|
Schedule
W1 (9/12) Introduction and Induction
W2 (9/19) What is an essay or dissertation? / Orientalism and Edward Said
W3 (9/26) How to find a research question; essay writing (1) / Orientalism and Edward Said
W4 (10/3) Essay Writing (2) / Orientalism and Edward Said
W5 (10/10) National Holiday
W6 (10/17) Sources, data, annotated bibliography / Orientalism and Edward Said
W7 (10/24) Conventions and Citations/ Shahab Ahmed, What is Islam?
W8 (10/31) Development of an argument / Shahab Ahmed, What is Islam?
W9 (11/7) How to structure your essay?/ Shahab Ahmed, What is Islam?
W10 (11/14) Preparation of the first presentation and annotated bibliography
W11 (11/21) The First Presentation (submission deadline of annotated bibliography: 12.00 pm, November 18)
W12 (11/28) Research Methods (1): Approaches to Early Islamic History: Historical Muhammad / Thomas Bauer, A culture of ambiguity
W13 (12/5) Preparation of the second presentation and essay
W14 (12/12) Research Methods (2): Hadith Studies / Thomas Bauer, A culture of ambiguity
W15 (12/19) Research Methods (3): Ethnography by Dr. Chang/ Thomas Bauer, A culture of ambiguity
W16 (12/26) Research Methods (4): the Rite of Passage and Arabic Poetry / Thomas Bauer, A culture of ambiguity
W17 (1/2) The Second Presentation
W18 (1/9) The Second Presentation (submission deadline of essay: 12.00 pm, January 10)
Evaluation
For post-graduates
In-class discussion 35%
Essay 20%
An annotated bibliography 15%
Presentation x 2 30% (10+20)
For undergraduates
In-class discussion 30%
Essay 30%
Jury Duty x 2 40%
References
Ahmed, Shahab. What Is Islam? The Importance of Being Islamic. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2016.
Bauer, Thomas, Hinrich Biesterfeldt, and Tricia Tunstall. A Culture of Ambiguity: An Alternative History of Islam. New York: Columbia University Press, 2021.
Brown, J.A. Hadith: Muhammad’s Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World. Oxford: One World, 2009.
Bürgel, J. Christoph. “Secular and Religious Features of Medieval Arabic Medicine.” In Asian Medical Systems: A Comparative Study, edited by Charles M. Leslie, 44–62. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976.
Crone, Patricia, and Michael Cook. Hagarism: The Making of the Islamic World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977.
Crone, Patricia. Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam. 1st Gorgias ed. Piscataway, NY: Gorgias Press, 2004.
Donner, Fred M. Narratives of Islamic Origins: The Beginning of Islamic Historical Writing. Princeton, New Jersey: The Darwin Press, 1998.
Humphreys, R.S. Islamic History: A Framework of Inquiry. London: I.B. Tauris, 1991.
Said, Edward. Orientalism. London: Penguin Books, 1978.
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