Ata Anzali
Associate Professor of Religion
- Office
- Munroe Hall 120
- Tel
- (802) 443-5759
- aanzali@middlebury.edu
- Office Hours
- Spring Term: Mondays and Wednesdays 10-11:30, and by appointment.
- Additional Programs
- Academic Affairs Religion
I joined the Religion Department in the fall of 2012 as an Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies right after receiving my PhD from the department of Religious Studies at Rice University. Prior to that, I studied at the Qom Seminary focusing on Islamic rational disciplines, including speculative mysticism and philosophy. I also received a master’s degree in Islamic Philosophy and Theology from the University of Tehran. I have had an enduring interest in mysticism and esotericism as subjects of research. Simultaneously, I am deeply interested in the history of concepts as a means to reflect on religious, social, and political change and transformation, especially in the modern era. My first monograph, ‘Mysticism’ in Iran, combines these interests by tracing the history of the concept of ‘irfan in Persian literature from the seventeenth century to contemporary times. It illustrates how relevant socio-political and religious transformations in Persia, namely the conversion of its populace to a Twelver Shi’i realm under the Safavids and its transformative encounter with European modernity during the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries, helped forge and re-forge the semantic field of ‘irfan until it became the term that is used nowadays almost as an equivalent to ‘mysticism’ in English. In my current research project, I focus on H. K. Iranshahr (d. 1962), an Iranian intellectual/mystic based in Europe, and how his writings influenced the formation of modern discourses of spirituality in Iran. I am particularly interested in Iranshahr as an esotericist who was heavily influenced by Theosophy and how he facilitated the transmission of some of the fundamental teachings of the occult scene in Europe to Iran. Other topics of interest are theories and methods in the study of religion, the comparative study of religion, the early history of Islam and the Qur’an, and modern religious reform movements in the Middle East.
Courses Taught
FYSE 1436
Mystics, Saints, and Shamans
Course Description
Mystics, Saints, and Shamans
What is the nature of a mystical experience? Are “mysticism” or “sainthood” phenomena with a universal core found equally across cultures? What is the role of cultural and social contexts in the formation of such experiences and phenomena? How exactly do we define who is a saint or a shaman? This course will be a comparative study of extraordinary experiences and manipulations of reality claimed by charismatic religious figures across time and space. We will discuss a wide variety of examples from traditionally renowned saints of the medieval Islamic world to contemporary Shamanic and New Age practices in the Americas. 3 hrs. sem.
Terms Taught
Requirements
IGST 0706
Upcoming
MES Senior Thesis
Course Description
Middle East Studies Senior Thesis
(Approval Required)
Terms Taught
RELI 0150
The Islamic Traditions
Course Description
The Islamic Traditions
What is Islam? Is it a religion, a way of life, a civilization, or a political ideology? Was Muhammad a political leader, a warrior, or an ascetic? What is the Qur’an? How did it develop as a sacred text and how does it compare to the Bible? This course is designed to provide a platform for us to explore such questions by focusing on historical, social, and intellectual developments in the wide swath of land known as the Muslim world. Special attention will be given to early developments of the Islamic community as well as the later response of different Muslim communities to modernity. 3 hrs. lect./disc
Terms Taught
Requirements
RELI 0252
Islam in America
Course Description
Islam in America
In this course we will briefly consider the historical origins of Islam, its development, and essential teachings. Then we will shift our focus to the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the earliest Muslims who set foot on American soil as slaves. We will then examine the fascinating role the African American community played in the spread of Islam during the twentieth century. Finally, we will examine issues of immigration, identity, gender, ethnicity, generational divide, discussing the constantly changing nature of how Islam is imagined in America both by the general public and Muslim Americans. (not open to students who have taken RELI 1032) 3 hrs. lect.
Terms Taught
Requirements
RELI 0255
Reading Islamic Sacred Texts
Course Description
Reading Islamic Sacred Texts
In this course we will read selections from texts considered “sacred” by a variety of Muslim communities. Emphasis will be on in depth and slow reading of the texts and understanding how and why they have come to be held at such high esteem by relevant Muslim communities. Through our discussions about these texts, we will try to re-examine the dominant notions of what constitutes a “religion,” particularly what constitutes “Islam.” Readings will include selections from the Qur’an and the biography of Prophet Muhammad, sayings/biography of Muslim saints and mystical poetry, theological and philosophical treatises, and more. (This is a half credit course)
Terms Taught
RELI 0275
Reli,Culture&Politics in Iran
Course Description
Religion, Culture, and Politics in Iran
The Islamic revolution of 1979, led by Ayatollah Khomeini, propelled Iran to the position of the arch-nemesis of the United States in the region. As a result of hostile media coverage, there are many misconceptions that pervade our understanding of post-revolutionary Iranian society. In this course we will try to offer a more nuanced understanding by looking deeper into the history of Iran beginning from the era of the early Islamic conquests. A focus of the course will be examining the intersection of religion, culture, and politics in the early modern, modern, and finally, contemporary Iranian society.
Terms Taught
Requirements
RELI 0350
Mystical Tradition of Islam
Course Description
Sufism: The Mystical Tradition of Islam
In this seminar, we will start our adventure in the Sufi world by focusing on the historical and religious contexts in which the mystical tradition of Islam developed during the early Islamic centuries. We will then turn to the so-called classical period focusing on the institutionalization of Sufism, major themes of the classical Sufi literature; fundamental teachings and practices of Sufis; and important figures like Rumi, Ibn Arabi, and Hafez. Finally, we will move to the modern period to discuss the ways in which the Sufi tradition has been re-interpreted, contested, or transformed throughout the Muslim world in response to the challenges of modernity. In all this, our main concern will be to develop an understanding of the mystical perspective that has influenced the outlook of much of the world's diverse Muslim population. Requires familiarity with the Islamic tradition. 3 hrs. sem.
Terms Taught
Requirements
RELI 0359
Fundamentalism and Religion
Course Description
Fundamentalism and Religion
What is fundamentalism and why is it in the news so much? Is it inherently linked to intolerance, radicalism, violence, and an apocalyptic mood? We will begin by examining the historical development of fundamentalism in the early 20th century, paying special attention to its ongoing symbiotic relationship with modernism and secularism. Though we will focus more on Islamic fundamentalism in the Middle East, we will also examine Jewish and Christian fundamentalisms, and other regions of the world, discussing all with a comparative approach. We will see whether or not we can find common psychological, socio-economic, and/or religious patterns that can help us understand the rise of fundamentalism in the contemporary world. 3 hrs. lect
Terms Taught
Requirements
RELI 0400
Seminar: Study of Religion
Course Description
Methods in the Study of Religion
How do we think about religion? Is there a common way to talk about religion across cultural divides or should we simply concur that religion is like art, where “We can’t define it, but we know it when we see it? This course will take us through the basic twentieth and twenty-first century theories in the study of religion as “ways of perceiving” this most elusive of phenomena: anthropology, psychology, history, text, politics, philosophy, theology, experience. All of these ways of perceiving religion play a crucial role in the history of the field. We will end by thinking through recent issues in the study of religion–religion and politics, gender and sexuality, comparative and interfaith studies, and the authority of religious identity. Students will be asked to outline a single, compelling case study in religion, and each week they will apply the theorists we read to the details of their case. In applying theories about religion to real-life situations, students will become skillful practitioners of the art of interpreting religion. They will also develop their own approaches to the study of religion and be able to articulate that approach to a wider audience. (At least 3 courses in the study of religion or by waiver. Open only to juniors and seniors.) 3 hrs. sem.
Terms Taught
RELI 0500
Independent Research
Course Description
Independent Research
(Approval Required)
Terms Taught
RELI 0700
Senior Project in Religion
Course Description
Senior Project
(Approval Required)
Terms Taught
RELI 0701
Senior Thesis in Religion
Course Description
Senior Research for Honors Candidates
Approval required
Terms Taught
RELI 1075
Religion and Politics in IRAN
Course Description
Religion and Politics in Iran
“The Islamic revolution of 1979, led by Ayatollah Khomeini, propelled Iran to the position of the arch-nemesis of the United States in the region. As a result of hostile media coverage, there is much mis-understanding that pervades our understanding of the post-revolutionary Iran. In this course we will try to improve this understanding by digging deeper in the history of Iran as well as examining various aspects of contemporary Iranian society such as media, politics, and religion.” 3 hrs. lect./sem.
Terms Taught
Requirements