Introduces students to the Islamic genre of hadith, or Prophetic traditions. The main concern of the course is to develop an understanding of how prophetic religious authority was understood and communicated in written form and what the relationship of the hadith form has been to alternative claims on prophetic authority in Islam. Finally, the course examines the role that the Prophetic hadith -- and their contestation -- have played in Islamic reform movements during the modern period. Recommended prerequisite: ARAB 1011.
