Module LAW3132 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
LAW3132: Islamic Law and Society
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:
- Introduction to Islamic law: What is Islamic law? Sources of Islamic Law
- Philosophy of Islamic law and Islamic Legal Thought -Classic Islamic Law
- Pre-Modern Reform, Colonialism and Modernity - Islamic Law and State Legislation
- Islamic Legal Thought: Past and Present
- Legal Institutions: Courts and Procedure
- Contracts and Torts
- Islamic Criminal Law
- Islamic Marriage and Divorce Law
- Islamic Inheritance Law
- Islamic law and Muslim Communities in the West
- Islamic legal revivalism and its consequences
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 28 | 122 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning & Teaching activity | 24 | Lectures and small group discussion/seminars, with use of ELE support materials. Interactive lectures, 2 hours per week, will provide students with guidance through key theories and foster critical commentary, alone or in group. |
| Scheduled Learning & Teaching activity | 3 | Workshops: 1 hour three times a term. For each seminar, students are required to work independently and/or as a group on oral presentations based on specific issues regarding Islamic Law. Issues for consideration, discussion and debate are provided in the module hand out. Students are required to engage in independent research |
| Guided independent study | 122 | Independent study: workshop preparation (15 hours); reading (40 hours); research for essay, and class (68 hours) |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 x individual seminar presentations | 15-20 minutes in total (consisting a text commentary and article summary) | 1-9 | Written and Oral |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case Study | 50 | 2,000 words | 1-9 | Written and oral feedback |
| Essay | 50 | 2,000 words | 1-9 | Written and oral feedback |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case Study | Assignment problem: Case Study (2,000 words) | 1-9 | August/September reassessment period |
| Essay | Essay (2,000 words) | 1-9 | August/September reassessment period |
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
Hallaq, Wael, An Introduction to Islamic Law (Cambridge University Press, 2009), ISBN 978-0521861465
Neilsen, Jorgen (ed.) Sharia as Discourse (Routledge, 20016) 0754679551
Peters, Ruud and Bearman, Peri, Ashgate Companion to Islamic Law (Ashgate 2014), ISBN 9781409438939
Vikor, Knut, Between God and the Sultan: A History of Islamic Law (Oxford University Press, 2007) ISBN 0195223985
Further Readings:
Brown, Daniel, Rethinking Tradition in Modern Islamic Thought (Cambridge University Press, 1999), ISBN 978-0521653947
Nik, Norzul Thani et al., Law and Practice of Islamic Banking and Finance (Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia : Sweet & Maxwell Asia, 2008), ISBN 9839088769
Hallaq, Wael, Authority, Continuity and Change in Islamic Law (Cambridge, UK ;New York : Cambridge University Press, 2001), ISBN 978-0521803311
Hallaq, Wael, The Origins and Evolution of Islamic Law (Cambridge, UK ;New York : Cambridge University Press, 2005), ISBN 978-0521005807
Ray, Nicholas Dylan, Arab Islamic Banking and the Renewal of Islamic Law (London ;Boston : Graham & Trotman, 1995), ISBN 978-1859661048
Saeed, Abdullah, Islamic Thought: an Introduction (Routledge, 2006) ISBN 978-0415364096
Vogel, Frank, Islamic Law and Finance: Religion, Risk and Return (The Hague ;Boston : Kluwer Law International, c1998), ISBN 978-9041106247
Weiss, Bernard, The Spirit of Islamic Law (University of Georgia Press, 2006), ISBN 978-0820328270
Journals
Journal of Islamic Law and Culture
Berkeley Journal of Middle Eastern & Islamic Law
Islamic Law and Society
