HIST429M

Cross-listed with RELS419C. Credit only granted for HIST429M or RELS419C. An exploration of historical writing in the medieval Islamic world. How did early Islamic-era scholars define their relationship to the past, torn between memory and oblivion? How did they build narratives about the formative period of Islam that became so influential and long-lasting, determining in a fundamental way the access that all future generations (including us) would have to alternative pasts?