Introduction to Iranian Religions and Persian Philosophy

HDS 3178 Subject & Catalog Number

Description

Throughout historical and contemporary periods, Persia (Iran) has occupied a central role in global religious thought and spirituality. The ancient Persian religions, including Zoroastrianism (Mazdayasna) and Manicheanism, had highly developed theological and philosophical worldviews with monotheistic and dualistic theologies. These included cosmologies of Light and Darkness, Good versus Evil, End-Times messianism, and resurrection that have greatly impacted world religious and philosophical traditions, including Greek philosophical schools, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, among others. In the post-Islamic period, Persia retained a distinctive place in the development of various Islamic philosophies, including among scholars, sages, poets, and philosophers such as al-Farabi, Avicenna (Ibn Sina), Sohrevardi, Attar, Rumi, Hafez, and Mulla Sadra. This has included highly mystical (Sufi/Irfani) understandings of religion that have shaped Islamic thought and culture to the present time, especially in Iran as the main center of Shi'a Islam, heavily impacting the development of Shi'a Islamic thought, philosophy, and identity. This course provides an introductory survey of several Iranian religions and philosophical-mystical traditions from the pre- to post-Islamic periods, ending with Muslim scholars of the 20th century and the Islamic Revolution of 1979 in Iran. It also examines the Western reception of Persian thought and religion, especially in American religion and contemporary popular culture, exploring the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Harold Bloom, and other media.