ML 403 – Methods and Perspectives in Islamic Law


 

Syllabus

 Researching and analysing Islamic resources for legal purposes
 The spirit versus letter in Islamic law
 Different approaches to ijtihad and its scope
 How can Islamic law face exigencies of modern life
 Critical Rationalism: A Sound Epistemological Framework for Studying Islamic Law
 Situational Analysis/ Situational Logic: A Suitable Methodology and Method for Mujtahids and Researchers in Islamic Law
 Hermeneutics: Hans-Georg Gadamer and Paul Ricoeur and the relativistic implications of the approach
 Thomas Kuhn’s paradigm and the historical phases of Islamic Law
 Using internet and appropriate software for research in Islamic Law
 Literature review with regard to major resources in various Islamic fields
 Essay writing skills for academic purposes
 Presentation of a research report

Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy

Assessment Scheme
Individual coursework (4000 words) worth 80/100 on a relevant topic but not the topic of their dissertation (approved in advance by the module tutor) and a 1500 word paper based on student contribution to class discussion groups.

Assessment Weighting
Individual coursework: 80 out of 100
Study presented in the class 20 out of 100

Learning materials

Core readings
Drew, P. Raymond, G. Weinberg D. eds. (2006) Talk and Interaction in Social Research Methods, Sage Publications
Fairelough, N. (2006) Discourse and Social Change, Polity Press
Harding S. (ed.), (1987) Feminism & Methodology, Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press,
Janet M. Box-Steffensmeier & Bradford S. Jones, (2004) Event History Modelling: A Guide for Social Scientists, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Paya, A (2015) Methods and Perspectives in the Islamic Studies, ICAS Press, (forthcoming)
Paul S. Gray, et.al. (2007) The Research Imagination, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Scott W. VanderStoep, Deirdre D. Johnston. (2009) Research methods for everyday life: blending qualitative and quantitative approaches, John Wiley & Sons
Singh, K. (2007) Quantitative social research methods, SAGE Publications