Course Syllabus

Ethics of Jihad. CompLit 38Q

Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 to 10:45am in Building 260 Room 012

 

Professor: Alexander Key (questions about content, grading, attendance)

Office hours in Building 240 Room 109: sign up at akey.youcanbook.me

akey@stanford.edu or 650 723 9272

 

Course Development Assistant: Shannon Eddy (questions about content and access to readings)

sheddy@stanford.edu

 

Course Goal:

To enable students to explore the competing claims of jihad.

 

Learning Outcomes:

1. Introduction to the development of a selection of jihad discourses from the seventh century to the present day.
2. Understanding of how ethical reasoning takes place in Islamic discourse.
3. Development of the skills required to share your newly acquired knowledge of jihad with others:
1. Talking about ideas and facts with which you are not familiar / talking about yourself (Presentation A).
2. Explaining in writing ideas that you have talked about and that you are still thinking about (Writing Assignment A).
3. Giving a formal talk about completed research (Presentation B).
4. Presenting completed research in writing (Writing Assignment B).
5. Revising your writing after external input (Revision of Written Assignment B).

 

Student responsibilities, for which you will be graded, are:

• Attend every class and the two individual consultations with the professor.
• Do all the reading.
• Speak and participate in class. Participation involves asking questions of the professor and each other. We will be talking about how we do this.
• Complete the in-class presentations and write the formal written reports (including the revision of Written Assignment B).

 

 Grading:

33% for class participation sessions #2 to #20 inclusive.
33% for individual in-class presentation of research of which:
Presentation A: 10%
Presentation B: 23%
33% for formal written report on research of which:
Written Assignment A: 13%
Written Assignment B: 23% of which 12% is for the initial version and 11% is for the revised version.

 

The Stanford Honor Code

The Honor Code is an undertaking of the students, individually and collectively:

that they will not give or receive aid in examinations; that they will not give or receive unpermitted aid in class work, in the preparation of reports, or in any other work that is to be used by the instructor as the basis of grading;

that they will do their share and take an active part in seeing to it that others as well as themselves uphold the spirit and letter of the Honor Code.

The faculty on its part manifests its confidence in the honor of its students by refraining from proctoring examinations and from taking unusual and unreasonable precautions to prevent the forms of dishonesty mentioned above. The faculty will also avoid, as far as practicable, academic procedures that create temptations to violate the Honor Code.

While the faculty alone has the right and obligation to set academic requirements, the students and faculty will work together to establish optimal conditions for honorable academic work.

 

The Fundamental Standard

Students at Stanford are expected to show both within and without the University such respect for order, morality, personal honor and the rights of others as is demanded of good citizens. Failure to do this will be sufficient cause for removal from the University.

 

Students with Documented Disabilities

Students who may need an academic accommodation based on the impact of a disability must initiate the request with the Office of Accessible Education (OAE).  Professional staff will evaluate the request with required documentation, recommend reasonable accommodations, and prepare an Accommodation Letter for faculty dated in the current quarter in which the request is being made. Students should contact the OAE as soon as possible since timely notice is needed to coordinate accommodations.

The OAE is located at 563 Salvatierra Walk / (650) 723-1066 / http://studentaffairs.stanford.edu/oae.

 

The Hume Center

The Hume Center for Writing & Speaking (Hume) works with Stanford students taking any course including writing assignments. In free one-to-one sessions, trained writing consultants help students brainstorm and get started on assignments; learn strategies for revising, editing, and proofreading; and improve organization, flow, and argumentation. Students can make an appointment with a lecturer or advanced graduate student consultant or drop in to meet with an undergraduate peer tutor. For further information, to see hours and locations, or to schedule an appointment, visit the Hume website.

 

Questions?                 Ask the professor – akey@stanford.edu                               

Building 240 Room 109 / 650 723 9272 / akey.youcanbook.me