20 undergraduate courses in the 2026–27 Undergraduate Calendar.
An introduction to the caliphates, cities, and cultures of Islam, through film and selected texts, including the experience of Islam in Canada as revealed through its writers. This course provides a foundation for Studies in Islam, establishing a context for multidisciplinary approaches to a wide variety of topics.
Integrating elements of Arab history, geography, language, literature (prose and poetry), art, music, theatre, cinema, politics, press, humour, dance, fashion, and food, this course explores varied expressions of Arab culture. Students will also study the phenomenon of Orientalism and the impact of European colonialism upon the Arabs.
This course introduces students to Islam by examining the development, contributions, and influence of Muslim communities throughout the classical and modern periods. Through the study of academic literature that represents both insider and outsider perspectives on Islam, students will explore diverse aspects of Islamic faith, practice, law, culture, and politics. Participating in interactive lectures, visual analysis, and collaborative or individual projects, students will enhance their critical thinking, writing, and oral communication skills. This course aims to foster students’ awareness and appreciation of one of the major religions of the world, and supports their ability to engage with perceptions of Islam in today’s discourse.
This course examines conceptions of East-West divide and confrontation as well as topics of interest, both geo-political and religious, that influence the relationships of Muslims and the Western world. The focus is on the history of Muslims in the West and the challenges of integration of Muslim communities in pluralistic, secular societies.
This course explores Islamic visual culture by focusing on three main design elements in Islamic art and architecture: calligraphy, arabesque, and geometry. The course emphasizes the aesthetic, visual, and cultural importance of ornamentation in Islamic art and examines its manifestation in the work of contemporary Muslim artists.
Exploring the history of Islamic and East Asian calligraphic arts and the study of Eastern and Western artists, this course examines multiple ways in which writing and other forms of visible language are incorporated into visual arts. Through studio projects, students explore conceptual approaches to text-based image making.
From elaborate geometric patterns to sinuous dragon motifs, ornamentation is one of the most essential artistic modes in Islamic and East Asian cultures. This course examines the aesthetic, visual, and cultural importance of design elements in decorative works of the past and of contemporary artists.
This course investigates the notion of living between cultures brought about by the act of migration. Applying theories of cultural translation to the realm of visual arts, it focuses on Muslim and East Asian contemporary artists in diaspora.
This course offers a comprehensive exploration of modern Arab and Muslim drama, providing students with a deep understanding of its various contexts, genres, evolutions, themes, and aesthetic nuances. Moreover, students will actively engage in the transformative practice of Theatre of the Oppressed, where they will merge their creative skills with scholarly knowledge. Collaborating in groups, they will create and perform Forum plays that serve as reflections on pertinent socio-political issues explored in the course. This blend of theoretical exploration and practical application ensures a holistic and immersive learning experience, fostering critical thinking, empathy, and artistic expression.
This course examines Muslim narratives written in the diaspora, such as from North America or the United Kingdom. It investigates the diversity of Islamic culture and expression in diasporic contexts, exploring an array of experiences and issues written from various sociocultural locations.
Using the Muslim dimension as a central theme, this course explores the social, cultural, and political implications to be found in a range of postcolonial literatures from Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East. Students investigate issues such as identities, nationalism and politics, cultural memory, and sacred space and place.
This course is designed to examine major themes, schools, and genres in Arabic literature, covering the classical, postclassical, and modern eras. Students will read and analyze selected representative texts. The course will be delivered in English with assigned texts in English translation.
This course surveys the diverse history of Islamic societies from the seventh to the 13th century. The primary focus is on the central Islamic lands from Egypt to Iran. In addition to the standard narrative, the course also examines salient aspects of Islamic civilization on a thematic basis.
This course studies in comparative fashion the rise, consolidation, and decline of the three major Islamic empires of the early modern period (c. 1300-1800): the Ottomans in Anatolia, the Balkans, and the Middle East; the Safavids in Iran; and the Mughals in India.
This course examines how Muslims and those influenced by Islam give spiritual expression to their lives through the digital arts. Using critical approaches, we will examine contemporary art of the Middle East/North Africa diaspora in the West to explore the relationship of Islam to the digital realm.
This course examines the religion, cultures, and politics associated with Islamic civilization in the modern world, focusing on the everyday lives and practices of ordinary Muslims. Through anthropological approaches based on ethnographic fieldwork in a variety of geographical areas, students study topics such as ritual, language, gender, authority, representation, stereotypes, fundamentalism, and secularism. Students will develop greater understanding of religious diversity by studying insider and outsider perspectives on Muslim lives and practices worldwide. Students will improve their critical thinking, writing, and oral communication skills to engage academic and public debates about Islam.
This course examines the lives and contributions of Muslim women in history - past and present - and political, social, and cultural influences that have affected the lives of Muslim women around the world. Challenging stereotypes of Muslim women and using religious, historical, and literary images, the course focuses on contributions of Muslim women as religious leaders, scholars, and politicians.
This course allows for in-depth study of selected topics in Islam, Islamic cultures, or Arab cultures.
This course brings together the diverse strands that constitute the student's learning and experience in required as well as elective courses of Studies in Islam. Exploring Islam in a variety of contexts, the approach is interdisciplinary and integrative.
This course serves as a comprehensive introduction to the sacred text of Islam. Students engage the Qur'an using a wide array of interpretive approaches, from traditional forms of exegesis to new trends in the academic study of the Qur'an.