Certificate · Intellectual Tradition
Orientalism Restated
Examine the origins, assumptions, and contemporary implications of Orientalism through one of its foremost critics.
What this course gives you
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A working command of the vocabulary of Islamic metaphysics — wujūd, māhiyya, the gradation of being — used precisely, not loosely.
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The capacity to read primary texts of Ibn Sīnā and Mullā Ṣadrā with comprehension rather than reverence alone.
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An understanding of why the tradition treats metaphysics as the science of realities — and what that claim asks of the knower.
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Direct exchange with Professor Nasr in open Q&A after every session — the part no book can replace.
The eight weeks
A syllabus, not a playlist.
Your instructor
Wael Hallaq
Wael Hallaq is the Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University, where he has been teaching ethics, law, and political thought since 2009.
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