ISL 372 (42083), MES 321K (42207), PRS 361 (42438), RS 358 (44517)
Jalaloddin Rumi (1207-1273), the premier Middle Eastern “Sufi” poet, is a bestselling author in the West and perhaps the most popular poet in America. This Persian literature-in-translation course, designed for undergraduate students without any background in Iranian Studies or the Persian language, examines the Rumi phenomenon through a close reading of representative texts of translated Persian poems and, in the process, dispels popular myths about Rumi and other Persian poets. On the occasion of this course, a Rumi Teach-In will take place on 7–9 February, involving guest speakers, a panel discussion, film screenings, music, and recitations from Rumi’s poetry.
Required course texts are: The Koran (2006) translated by Anonymous and N.J. Dawood; The Koran: A Very Short Introduction (2000) by Michael Cook; Rumi–Past and Present, East and West: The Life, Teachings, and Poetry of Jalal al-Din Rumi (2007, revised edition) by Franklin Lewis; and a packet of Persian texts in translation and commentary.
Course grading takes into account class recitation and participation in discussion (30% of the course grade), two review tests (20% of the course grade each), and a term paper (30% of the course grade). Term papers present a personal impression of a Rumi text chosen by the student, that personal impression grounded in concepts and information developed in class and in course readings. The course has no final examination.
The opening course session on January 19 at 5 pm in CBNA 4.344 is a lecture (open to the public) by course instructor Michael Craig Hillmann on “Edward FitzGerald’s The Rubaíyát of Omar Khayyám vis-à-vis Sufism.”
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