13/02/2020
Bridging Course on Reading, Writing and Research for the Academic Study of Islam - 15th February – 18th April 2020
UJ offers a three-month Bridging Course on the Study of Islam in Religion Studies.
There are many people in the Muslim community who are engaged in Islamic Studies at most two levels;
a) Informal such as regularly attending public or private lectures, study circles, reading on Islam as a personal interest, attending conferences and even signing up for courses and often dropping out. Over the years this can amount to a good amount of learning and knowledge acquired and it’s great.
However, one does little with it in order to transform this into a formal recognition in the sense that that one use it for currency in the South African job market or add to ones’ formal qualifications because it was not packaged properly nor was it enhanced with the academic flavour and language that universities require
What can be done to bridge the gap between these two ways of learning Islam on the one hand and the academic approach to Islam between this knowledge, valuable as it is, however, is often not related to contemporary issues.
A bigger issue is that the basic mode of communication and demonstrating knowledge in these institutions is aural (Speaking and hearing). The ustaz, speaks, the students, listen (and may take note), gather later in the day with some study buddies to repeat the lecture in order to assist with memorization. The two or three exams a year are the only times that students ever get to write anything and usually they only get to see a grade and never get any feedback on the writing. In a university, the primary mode of communication an assessment is the written word. You are judged on how well you can organize your knowledge and your ideas in a written or typed form.
This is one of the major reasons why the qualifications in these institutions are not recognized, even as a basic degree, despite the fact their graduates end up with an amount of knowledge vastly more than the average university graduate with a mere BA.
What can be done to bridge the Gap between these two ways of learning Islam on the one hand and the academic approach to Islam?
At the University of Johannesburg, we offer a pilot Ten Week Bridging Course which aims to introduce students the basic requirements of academic writing and research.
Students who complete the course should, at its conclusion, be skilled in submitting written research pieces at a BA Honours level at any South African university provided they were also proficient in English. The course has no formal standing with the University of Johannesburg and is being offered as an additional service to the following:
1. Some students who may already be registered at UJ or elsewhere,
2. Others who are thinking of embarking on graduate studies on/in Islam or the Humanities in general, and
3. Those who simply want to acquire or enhance their academic skills.
While we do not assume that everyone doing this course will be interested in coming to UJ this course is pre-requisites for all applicants who do not have a prior undergraduate formal degree in Islam but want to enter the BA Honours (Religion, Study of Islam) program at UJ via the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) System.
The course covers the following:
• Different approaches to the study of religion
• Critical reading of texts.
• Basic academic writing skills.
• Basic research methods and skills.
While the skills taught will be applicable to any field of the Humanities, the content examples and exercises will largely relate to the Study of Islam.
Course Orientation
The orientation of the course is – to the extent that it is humanly possible –`objective’ and balanced and does not further any particular approach or viewpoint. In other words, traditional, liberal, secular, etc. approaches, for example, will all be explained without any of these being pushed. The one insurmountable problem that we have though is there is an ‘academic orthodoxy’ and this course is to introduce one to the academy. In some ways, it is like poetry; the ‘academy’ argues that you have to first display a familiarity with the rules of the language before you can be allowed to break it.
Course Content Matter
Sessions take place on a weekly basis, every Saturday, starting at 9.30 and finishing at 12.30 with a twenty-minute break in-between. Professor Farid Esack from the Department of Religion Studies at UJ will be teaching the course (at least seven of the ten sessions). Classes take place in the Department of Religion Studies Seminar Room, (6th Floor, A Ring, Auckland Park Campus) and you would need to get a letter from him, print it out, and carry it with you for the UJ security when you come to attend the course.
Instructor, Times and Days
Sessions take place on a weekly basis, every Saturday, starting at 9.30 and finishing at 12.30 with a twenty-minute break in-between. Professor Farid Esack from the Department of Religion Studies at UJ will be teaching the course (at least seven of the ten sessions). Classes take place in the Department of Religion Studies Seminar Room, (6th Floor, A Ring, Auckland Park Campus) and you would need to get a letter from him, print it out, and carry it with you for the UJ security when you come to attend the course.
Content
1. How is Religion Studied?
2. Shifting Between a Dārul `Ulūm and a University – Transitions and Tensions.
3. The purpose of writing, the reader, the tone and guidelines)
4. Finding, Evaluating and Using Academic Resources
5. Writing Essays and Assignments
6. Reading Religious Texts and Writing Interpretive Essays
7. Writing with Style
8. Writing Comparative Essays
9. Dealing with Feedback and Reflecting on Your Studies
10. Documenting Your Sources
11. Punctuation, Transliteration, Common Errors in Grammar and Usage
Material/Textbook
We will be using a variety of sources which will be made available to the class in PDRF format. One book though that we will use extensively, and which students are required to have a hard copy of is Making Sense – A Student’s Guide to Research and Writing – Religious Studies by M Northey, BA Anderson & JN Lohr (Oxford University Press, 2015).
How are the classes going to be conducted?
The class will be limited to 10 participants. While the first part of the class is somewhat more theoretical and lecturing, in the second part UJ Religion Studies students will be encouraged to submit drafts of their works as we go along. We will, through peer-tuition and group work be making use of sample writings by participants in the course and others to work through what is good writing (or not so good) and their work be improved.
There will be a limited number of short assignments and for those already registered in the Study of Islam@UJ these will be directly related to their modular course work and to assignments required there.
Kindly note that this primarily an on-site course. Enquiries from Southern African students not based in Johannesburg applications will be treated on a case by case basis.
Web-Based Complementary Learning
We have identified two problems that many of our students have; they one is simple typing and the other is a lack of competence in English Grammar. We are not really geared up to addressing these problems and when we do try to also work on people’s grammar, it is exhausting and draining.
There are some specific online English and Academic Writing Programs that you would be required to sign up for and we monitor your progress.
In addition, there are two programs we would strongly recommend that you consider signing up to:
For further information, and you are based in Johannesburg or within driving distance from the city, please complete the form below and return to Professor Farid Esack at [email protected].
