Rumi's (Life and) Poetry and the Persian Sufi Tradition MEL 321 (40893), MES 342 (41109), ISL 373 (40813), RS 358 (42874) Spring 2016…..MWF 12-1 pm…..BEN 1.106 Michael Craig Hillmann, Instructor Spring 2016 Office hours: W 9 am-12 noon, and by appointment Calhoun Hall 400, 512-475-6606 [email protected], 512-653-5152 (cell) www.utexas.Academia.edu/MichaelHillmann www.Issuu.com/MichaelHillmann • Mowlânâ Jalâloddin Rumi (1207-1273) is perhaps the most popular poet in America. In the Persian-speaking world, Rumi stands with Ferdowsi, Nezâmi, Sa'di, and Hâfez as a poet of the first rank. In the world of Islam, Rumi is arguably the preeminent “mystical” voice. • This Rumi and Sufism course, designed for undergraduate students without a background in Islamic Studies or the Persian language, examines the Rumi phenomenon through a close reading of representative texts of Persian poems in English translation in the three-fold context of: (1) The Koran, (2) the rise and nature of Islamic mysticism (= Sufism), and (3) Persianate culture. The three cited contexts serve as backdrop for appreciation of Rumi’s life and works, which course readings and discussion address. • In addition to its focus on the Koran, Sufism, and Persianate culture as embodied in the works of Rumi and other medieval Persian poets, the course also uses the lives and writings of Rumi and other Persian Sufis as answers to 21st-century attacks on people of faith by individuals and groups who mistakenly assume that such attacks on Muslims might hasten the collapse of the Islamic Republic of Iran and who more essentially assume that Islam and the Koran negatively influence individuals and societies in today’s world. In addition, to preclude positive interpretations of Islam arising from appreciation of Rumi and his works, they argue that Rumi composed his magnum opus called Masnavi-ye Ma’navi [Spiritual Couplets] in his younger years and that his Sufism gradually took him outside of Islam. • The course also devotes significant attention to writing about writing in the form of six, two-page papers on assigned texts and an 6-page term paper on an assigned text in the framework of one of the three contexts cited above. Peer review of writing assignments are part of the process, and students receive extra credit for having drafts of assignments critiqued at the Undergraduate Writing Center. As for the term paper, students discuss a draft of it with the instructor at least a week before its due date. • The course’s required texts are: Faridoddin 'Attâr’s Conference of the Birds, translated by Dick Davis and Afkham Darbandi (Penguin Classics, 2004, ISBN: 014044343); Reza Aslan, No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam (New York, NY: Random House Trade Paperback Edition, 2011, ISBN: 978-0-8129-8244-2; The Koran, translated by N.J. Dawood (Penguin Classics, 2008, ISBN:1439515549); Franklin Lewis’s Rumi–Past and Present, East and West: The Life, Teachings, and Poetry of Jalal al-Din Rumi (Oneworld 2007, revised edition, ISBN:1851685499); and Persian texts in translation and essays posted in the course’s Dropbox folder. • Course grading takes into account class recitation, including oral reports and group discussions (20% of the course grade), six two-page papers on assigned texts (4% of the course grade each), a term paper on an assigned text related to a course concept or context (15% of the course grade), and two review tests (20% of the course grade each). The grading scale is: A (93–100), A- (90–92), B+ (87–89), B (83–86), B- (80–82), C+ (77–79), C (73–76), C- (70– 72), D+ (67–69), D (63-66), D- (60–62), and F (0-59). The course has no final examination. Information on holidays, holy days, excused absences, accommodations with respect to disabilities, and academic honesty appears on the course Blackboard. • Students in the course interested in reading some of the course texts in the original Persian can register for PRS 130D Persian across Disciplines, a Persian-only one-credit course that meets for two hours once a week at a time convenient to students. Rumi’s (Life and) Poetry and the Persian Sufi Tradition Course Schedule Spring 2016 1. W Jan 20 Introducing “Rumi and the Persian Sufi Tradition” with a look at the course materials. Discussion of the course description, aims, and assignments. Handout. Preview of the Koran and Koran 1:7–Exordium. Paperback. 2. F Jan 22 Persian quatrains and the idea of Sufi poetry. Handout & Dropbox. __________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. M Jan 25 A chronology of Islam from Ibrahim/Abraham to 1273 CE. Handout. Koran 14:1-52–Ibrahim; Koran 37:1-182–The Ranks; and Koran 47:1-37–Muhammad. 4. W Jan 27 Three Hâfezian ghazals and interpreting Persian texts as symbolic or Sufistic. Dropbox. Koran 12:1-111–Joseph. 5. F Jan 29 A history of Persian literature from 900 to 1273 CE. Handout & Dropbox. __________________________________________________________________________________________Persian Sufi poetry, 11th and 12th centuries. Handout & Dropbox. 6. M Feb 1 Koran 2:1-286–The Cow. Reza Aslan’s No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam 1 7. W Feb 3 Spiritual and inspirational Koranic passages. Reza Aslan’s No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam 1. Paperback. 8. F Feb 5 Problematic Koran passages, e.g., in Koran 4:1-176. __________________________________________________________________________________________Aslan’s No god but God 2. 9. M Feb 8 Aslan’s No god but God 3. ……………………………………………..…………………. 10. W Feb 10 ‘Attâr's Conference of the Birds 1. Paperback. ……………………………………………..…………………. 11. F Feb 12 'Attâr's Conference of the Birds 2. __________________________________________________________________________________________……………………………………………..…………………. 12. M Feb 15 'Attâr's Conference of the Birds 3. ……………………………………………..…………………. 13. W Feb 17 Rumi's Life 1: Lewis's Rumi–Past and Present, East and West, pp. 41-241. Paperback. ……………………………………………..…………………. 14. F Feb 19 Rumi's Life 2: Lewis's Rumi–Past and Present, pp. 41-241. __________________________________________________________________________________________……………………………………………..…………………. 15. M Feb 22 Rumi's Life 3: Lewis's Rumi–Past and Present, pp. 41-241. ……………………………………………..…………………. 16. W Feb 24 "The Mythological Rumi," Lewis's Rumi–Past and Present, pp. 242-268. Rumi’s Poetry, Islam, and Sufism.pptx 1. 17. F Feb 26 Interpreting Khayyâmic quatrains as Sufistic. Dropbox. Rumi’s Poetry, Islam, and Sufism.pptx 2. __________________________________________________________________________________________ 18. M Feb 29 "Sufi guru" Idries Shah. Handout & Dropbox. Aslan’s No god but God 4. 19. W Mar 2 Rumi’s Poetry: An overview of his quatrains, ghazals, and Spiritual Couplets. 20. F Mar 4 Divân of Shams of Tabriz Ghazals #4, #2131, #441, and #2245. Dropbox. ……………………………………………..…………………. __________________________________________________________________________________________ 21. M Mar 7 Divân of Shams of Tabriz Ghazals #648, #1759, #3165, and #2039. ……………………………………………..…………………. 22. W Mar 9 Preview for Review Test #1. __________________________________________________________________________________________23. F Mar 11 Review Test #1. 24. M Mar 21 Review of Review Test #1. 25. W Mar 23 Divân of Shams of Tabriz Ghazals #1855, #2219, #95, and #1725. ……………………………………………..…………………. 26. F Mar 25 "The Poems," Lewis's Rumi–Past and Present, East and West, pp. 327-393. __________________________________________________________________________________________……………………………………………..…………………. 27. M Mar 28 "The Poems," Lewis's Rumi–Past and Present, East and West, pp. 327-393. ……………………………………………..…………………. 28. W Mar 30 Characterization of Rumi's quatrains and ghazals as poetry. ……………………………………………..…………………. __________________________________________________________________________________________29. F Apr 1 An overview of Rumi's writings. 30. M Apr 4 Rumi, according to contemporary “Sufis,” New Age voices, and Coleman Barks. ……………………………………………..…………………. 31. W Apr 6 Stories from Spiritual Couplets 1. ……………………………………………..…………………. __________________________________________________________________________________________32. F Apr 8 Stories from Spiritual Couplets 2. 33. M Apr 11 Stories from Spiritual Couplets 3. ……………………………………………..…………………. 34. W Apr 13 Stories from Spiritual Couplets 4. ……………………………………………..…………………. 35. F Apr 15 Rumi and the Koran. __________________________________________________________________________________________……………………………………………..…………………. 36. M Apr 18 Rumi and the Muslim prophet Mohammad. ……………………………………………..…………………. 37. W Apr 20 Rumi’s Islam vis-à-vis the denigration of Islam in today’s world. ……………………………………………..…………………. __________________________________________________________________________________________38. F Apr 22 Aslan’s No god but God 4. Submission of term paper drafts. 39. M Apr 25 Discussion of term paper drafts. ………………………………………………………... 40. W Apr 27 “The Teachings,” Lewis's Rumi–Past and Present, pp. 395-419. ……………………………………………..…………………. __________________________________________________________________________________________41. F Apr 29 Review Test #2. 42. M May 1 Discussion of Review Test #2. ……………………………………………..…………………. 43. W May 3 Conclusions about Rumi and the Persian Sufi tradition 1. 44. F May 5 Conclusions about Rumi and the Persian Sufi tradition 2. .