arabic and islamic studies arabic with an additional language

101 Pages·2014·0.49 MB·English

F O S
ACULTY OF RIENTAL TUDIES
U O
NIVERSITY OF XFORD
ARABIC AND ISLAMIC STUDIES
ARABIC WITH AN ADDITIONAL
LANGUAGE
A Handbook for Final Honours School
To be examined in Trinity Term 2014
ACADEMIC YEAR 2012–13
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ACADEMIC YEAR 2012 -13

DATES OF FULL TERM

Michaelmas Term
Monday 8th November – Friday 30th November 2012

Hilary Term
Monday 14th January – Friday 8th March 2013

Trinity Term
Monday 22nd April – Friday 14 June 2013

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CONTENTS
Preparation for the Final Honour School (FHS) 7
Teaching 7
Public Examinations 9
Courses Outline
Arabic and Islamic Studies 13
Arabic with an additional language 15
Papers in Islamic Studies
Ar. 1 Arabic Unprepared Translation into English
and Comprehension 18
Ar.2 Composition inArabic 20
Ar.3 Spoken Arabic 21
Ar.4 Arabic Literature 22
Ar.5 Islamic History, 570-1500 24
Ar.6 Islamic Religion 25
Ar. 7 Arabic Further Subject 27

i. Hadith 29

ii. Early Islamic Monetary History 30
iii. Classical Arabic Literary Texts 31
iv. The Ethos of theJahiliyya inthe Mu‘allaqa ofImru’al-Qays 32
v. Early Islamic Historiography 34
vi. Aspects of Islamic Art, Architecture and Archaeology 35
vii. Muslims andChristians in Sicily, 827-1246 38
viii. The Rise of the Sufi Orders in the Islamic World,
1200-1500 40
ix. S u f i s m 42
x. [Until 1 October 2013: al-Ghazali, Munqidh] [From 43
October 2013: al-Ghazali]
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xi. Ibn Tufayl,HayyibnYaqzan 43
xii Ibn al-‘Arabi, Fusus al-hikam 43
xiii Religion and Politics during the Mongol Period 44
xiv. Ottoman State and Society 1566-1700 46

xv. History of the Middle East in the Late Ottoman Age,
1750-1882 47
xvi. A Modern Islamic Thinker (e.g. Sayyid Qutb,
Moahmmad Talbi, Rashid Rida) 48
xvii. Modern Arabic Literature 49

xviii. Arabic Vernacular Literature, 1900
tothe Present Day 50

xix. Society andCulture in theModern Arab World 51

xx [Until 1 October 2013: History of Jewish-Muslim Relations]
[From 1 October 2013: The Biography of Mohammad] 57
xxi. A short-term Further Subject, as approved by the Board of the Faculty of Oriental
Studies and publicized in the Arabic Handbook (t.b.c.)
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Ar. 8/9 Arabic Special Subject 58
i. [Until 1 October 2013: Qur’anic Commentary [From 1 61
October 2013: Qur’an]
ii. Themes in Classical Arabic Literature 62

iii. The Transformation of Ideas from the Jahiliyya to Early
Islam in Early Arabic Poetry 63
iv. Topics in Islamic Law 65
v. Learning and Culture in Baghdad, 800-900 66
vi. [Until 1 October 2013: The Graeco-Arabic Translation Movement]
[From 1 October 2013: Theology and Philosophy in the Islamic World] 66
vii. [Until 1 October 2013: vii. The Rise of kalam viii. The Rise of falsafa] 67
ix. [xii.] Medieval Sufi Thought 67
x. [viii.] Ibn al-‘Arabi 67
xi. [iv.] “Slave Dynasties” in Islam: From the Ghaznavids to the
Mamluk Sultanate 68
xii. [x.]Royal Art and Architecture in Norman Sicily 70
xiii. [xi.] Islamic Art and Archaeology c. 550- c. 1900 73
(Currently: Architectural Landmarks of the Islamic World)
xiv. [xii.] Writing Islamic History, 1250-1500: From Palaeography
to Historiography 75
xv. [xiii.] The Ottomans, Islam and the Arab World 1300–1566 77
xvi. [xiv.] History of the Middle East in the Age of Empire, 1882-1971
(In process of change to focus on Arab-Israel relations) 78
xvii. [xv.] Arabic Linguistics 79
xviii [xvi.] Themes in Modern Arabic Literature 81
xix. [xvii.] Modern Islamic Thought in the Middle East 83
xx. [xviii.] Popular Culture and Mass Media, 1930 to the Present 83
xxi. [xix.] A Short-term Special Subject, as approved by the Board of the Faculty
of Oriental Studies and publicized in the Arabic Handbook (t.b.c.)
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Teaching Staff 84
Appendix I: Guidelines forWriters of Theses 88
Appendix II:Regulations Relating to the useof IT facilities 94
Appendix III: Academic integrity:
Good practice in citation, and avoidance of plagiarism 100
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Preparation for the Final Honour School (FHS)
During your last two years you will be preparing for the papers which constitute
the final examination (FHS). It is this examination alone which determines your
degree result (or “class”).
You will divide your time in these two years between language work to enhance
the fluency and accuracy of your comprehension and expression, and the study of
the literature, history and culture associated withyour chosen language. The
detailed reading of a selection of prescribed texts is a key part of all courses, and
gives you direct access to the conceptual world of this language, whether past or
present.
Within each course there are certain elements of choice: in the case of Arabic
with Islamic Studies, a Further Subject, a Special Subject (which is examined as
two papers in Schools) and a thesis; in the case of Arabic with
an additional Language, you do not do a Further or Special Subject, but you
may choose to do an optional thesis. The date by which application to the
Faculty Board for the approval of all such options has to be made is
“Monday of the sixth week of Hilary Term in the academic year preceding
that in which the examination is taken” – normally Year 3.
The final examinations take place in Trinity Term of Year 4 (see section below on
Public Examinations). Your time during this term is mainly your own for revision,
although language classes continue in order to keep your skills in trim, and
tutorials can also be arranged if and when you need them.
TEACHING
FHS. In Years 3 and 4, you should expect to have approximately 4-5 hours of language
tuition, 6-8 hours of lectures or classes, and 1-2 hours of tutorials per week. Several
of the weekly classes will be devoted to the study of your prescribed texts (“set texts”),
and you will be expected to prepare the appropriate section of text in advance.
Michaelmas and Hilary Terms of Year 3 tend to be quite heavy, while Trinity Term of
Year4 is light and reserved mostly for revision. The subjects and hours of all lectures,
classes and seminars appear in the Oriental Studies lecture list, which is posted
prominently in the foyer of the Institute at the beginning of each term; versions are also
available online. The location of lectures and classes in the Institute is posted on the
white board in the foyer. Time permitting, you are encouraged to attend lectures outside
the Institute, in other faculties, etc.
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The following chart shows which papers are normally taught when:
Year 3 Michaelmas Hilary Trinity
Papers 1-3 (Arabic lang.) Papers 1-3 (Arabic lang.) Papers 1-3 (Arabic lang.)
Paper 4(Arabic lit.) Paper 4(Arabic lit.) Paper 6(Islamic Religion)
Paper 5 (Islamic History) Paper 5(Islamic History) Paper 7 (Further Subject)
Paper 6 (Islamic Religion)

Year 4 Michaelmas Hilary Trinity

Papers 1-3 (Arabic lang.) Papers 1-3 (Arabic lang.) Papers 1-3 (Arabic lang.)
Papers 8 & 9(Special sub.) Paper 10 (Thesis) Revision

Tutorials. For every term of Years 3 and 4, you will be assigned a tutor or tutors who
will guide your studies in a specialist or general manner. Tutorial lists are drawn up at
the beginning of each term. If you are not duly notified, something has gone wrong;
contact the Subject Co-ordinator (Tutorial Secretary). Each week, your tutor will assign
you work, normally a passage of text for study, an essay topic for which specific
reading is set, or a “prose” (a passage of English to be translated into your language of
study). You must then prepare the text or write the essay or translation for discussion
at an arranged tutorial in the following week. It is through the directed reading, textual
study, essay writing, translation and discussion involved in classes and tutorials that
you will gain essential understanding of your subject.
Tutors submit written reports to your college on your progress at the end of each term,
and sooner if necessary, and these reports will be discussed with you by your college
tutor or other officers of the college.
Collections. In addition to FHS, you may also be given “collections” by your teachers
in the Institute, usually on the Friday or Saturday of0th Week; these are informal
examinations, usually intended to test your command of material covered during the
previous term.
What to do if something goes wrong...
Inevitably, things do sometimes go wrong. You, your teachers, or both may be at fault
but, tempting though it is to apportion blame, it is far more important to act quickly to
resolve the problem. You have two avenues through which you may do so. In your
college, consult your Advisor or Moral Tutor, and ask her or him to help you. In the
Institute, talk to your tutor(s), to your course co-ordinator (see below), to the Subject
Co-ordinator (Tutorial Secretary) for your language, and - if your problem is a general
one - discuss it with your fellow students and raise it at the Joint Consultative
Committee (see above).
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Subject Co-ordinator (Tutorial Secretary) and IWSG Convenor 2012-13.
Co-ordinator: Dr Nadia Jamil
Convenor, Islamic World Subject Group and JCC: Dr Christopher Melchert
P E
UBLIC XAMINATIONS
GENERAL The final examinations – FHS - are, for the most part, sat in the
.
Examination Schools in the High Street. You will be informed in writing, some weeks in
advance, of the dates and times and venues of your examinations. You must attend
wearing subfusc, the precise definition of which is made clear in a letter sent to you by
the Chairman of Examiners in advance of the Examination.
The book called Examination Regulations (usually referred to simply as “the Grey
Book”) is the final authority on the scope and conduct of examinations. It is updated
annually. Interim or emergency changes maybe entered, first, in the University Gazette,
and included in the online version of the Regulations, which you must therefore be
sure to consult. All first-year undergraduates receive a copy of the current edition
through their college when they first arrive. If any changes to the regulations
governing the course upon which you have entered are made while you are still on
course, you will be fully informed. In such an event you have the right to be examined
under the old regulations if you so wish.
Copies of past papers for all examinations in Oriental Studies are available in the
Institute library. They may also be accessed online via www.ox.ac.uk: Current students
OXAM Ð Oxford Exam Papers Online. In the event of a paper which is being set for the
first time, or in a markedly changed format, students will be supplied with a specimen
paper to guide them in their preparation.
The results of each Public Examination are posted in the Examination Schools on a date
as soon as possible after the final meeting of examiners. As soon as the lists have gone
up you can find out your result by telephoning the Examination Schools. Marks for the
individual papers are not made public, but each candidate’s marks are communicated to
the Senior Tutor of his/her college; you can ask your college for your marks if you
wish.
THE FINAL HONOUR SCHOOL usually consists of 10 papers, depending on the
course, and this total includes an oral examination in the (main) language of study. The
written examination takes place towards the end of Trinity Term in Year 4.
Syllabus. In the case of papers which are not linguistically or textually based, the title of
a particular paper, as given in the Examination Regulations, is usually the only formal
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definition of its scope. In such papers there is always a wide choice of essay-type
questions, and past papers are a good guide to the kind of topics that can be expected to
occur.
Where a paper is based wholly or partly upon a corpus of texts that have been
prescribed for study (“set texts”), you should receive a list of those texts from the staff
member(s) teaching you for that particular paper. A master copy is also updated and
pubished in the relevant Handbook at the beginning of Hilary Term each year (not later
than Friday of 3rd Week) for the examination in the following academic year. This is to
allow the teaching staff to introduce different texts from time to time, but no changes
are allowed, except with the express permission of the Faculty Board, after the above-
mentioned date which is 16 months before the examination in question.
Setting conventions. By about the middle of Hilary Term of your fourth year, the
“setting conventions” for your FHS will be available on the Faculty’s website
(www.orinst.ox.ac.uk). The conventions provide a detailed description of the format of
each paper that you will be taking in the FHS. The description will include an
indication of any subdivision of the paper into sections, the number and type (e.g.
translation, commentary, essay) of questions to be asked, the number of questions that
candidates are required to answer, and any rules governing the distribution of their
choices between different sections of the paper. The object of the conventions is to assist
candidates in organising their revision.
The oral examination. This is usually held in 0th Week of Trinity Term of Year 4. For
the format of the oral examination see Paper 3 (Spoken Arabic).
Thesis. Theses have to be handed in by Friday of the 10th Week of Hilary Term of Year 4
early in the Easter Vacation). For further information see Appendix I: Final Honour
School of Oriental Studies (Arabic and Islamic Studies): Guidelines for Writers of
Theses.
Viva. Very occasionally, in order to resolve a borderline result, a student is asked to
attend a viva voce examination after the written papers have been assessed by the
examiners. Vivas are conducted in the Oriental Institute, and candidates must attend
wearing subfusc.
Given that candidates may be examined by viva voce (oral examination), candidates
should be prepared to travel to Oxford up until the final examiners’ meeting (normally
by first week of July, but maybe later).
In deciding to conduct a Viva, examiners and assessors should bear in mind that:
1. The reason for holding a Viva must be clear and is when examiners are otherwise
unable to determine the class of the submitted papers.
2. A Viva must not be used as a means of assessing suspicions about possible
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