Seminar, three hours. Exploration of what separates love from lust and how erotic desires and sexual practices intersect with beliefs in conversation with foundational and contemporary literature from Islamic societies. Examination of questions on the relationship between romantic, familial, and divine love; gender, sexuality, and the body; and the politics of reading desire cross-culturally. Diverse ideas about the themes, from late antiquity to present, are assessed through historical framework offered by Islam. Various ways of understanding love are encountered through primary sources that range from the Qur’an and pre-Islamic poetry; to mystics and philosophers such as Ibn Arabi and Ibn Sina (Avicenna); to the romances of Rumi’s Masnavi and Nezami’s Layla and Majnun; to the tales of the One Thousand and One Nights and the framing of Islamic narratives in Bollywood and American pop culture. Examination of how literary representations reflect different historical norms, and how texts can impact the norms of their contexts as well. P/NP or letter grading.

Comparative Literature

College of Letters and Science

COM LIT 168 - Love, Desire, and Sexuality in Islamic Literatures

Love, Desire, and Sexuality in Islamic Literatures

Employ critical approaches to gender and sexuality in the discussion of literary texts.  

Refine the practice of close reading through regular, written responses and in-class discussions.  

Identify major works in Islamic literatures, with a focus on the various ways in which authors and texts engage the theme of love. 

Categorize types of philosophical, religious, and literary discourse that contribute to communal ideas about love. 

General Catalog

Love, Desire, and Sexuality in Islamic Literatures

COM LIT 168

4 units