Five College Consortium

The modern world is shaped and deeply influenced by modern science and technology. While Muslim societies made valuable contributions to natural philosophy in medieval times, the relation to modern science is more complicated. In this course we will look at the reaction of Muslim intellectuals in the 19th and 20th centuries to the advent of modernity and how it shaped their views regarding modern science. The second half of the class will look at contemporary debates over "Islamic Science," the trend of finding modern science in the Qur'an, and biological evolution. We will conclude the class by looking at the impact of new media on the new generation of educated Muslims. Prerequisite: One course in Islam, Middle East history, or History of Science in the Muslim World.