IJC 202 Islamic Psychology
This course provides students with theoretical and practical perspectives on psychology and related Islamic sciences. Students critically examine traditional academic assumptions and understandings of human psychology and explore it through a Qurʾanic approach, which defines human nature and psychology from the foundations of the Islamic tradition. Through participation in lectures and discussions and independent research, students investigate Islamic psycho-spiritual therapy as practiced in various settings (private practice, institutional, congregational, and public agencies). The subject is located at the intersection of Islamic theology and the social and human sciences, addressing developmental theory, grief theory and women's studies, among other issues. This course emphasizes multidimensional assessment and the different applications of psycho-spiritual, therapeutic, supportive, educational, and resource management strategies for individuals. Students also examine professional identity and ethics, Islamic spiritual care, and psychotherapy.
Learning Outcomes
Review, present, interpret and evaluate various arguments, assumptions and concepts related to Islamic psychology and its subdisciplines.
Explain the differences between secular and Islamic approaches to studying human nature and personality, compare and contrast sources of knowledge for both perspectives and describe the relationship between psychology and religion.
Express information, arguments, theses, and analyses accurately and clearly in written and oral forms to specialist and non-specialist audiences.
Demonstrate skills in library research and building a bibliography, and use standard conventions of style for scholarly writing.
Use evidence-based research to support and critique their and others’ analysis of aspects of Islamic thought.
Design and carry out research, either independently or in collaboration with partners, and present evidence of an understanding of the nature and processes of research.
Articulate classical, medieval, and modern Islamic theological, philosophical, medicinal, and psychosomatic paradigms of human psychology.
Discuss and explain the dynamics of counselling skills within a spiritual orientation informed by the Prophetic model and Islamic ethics.
Differentiate between Islamic ethical, legal, and historical realities of cultural and communal psychologies in modern contexts.
Demonstrate an understanding of their knowledge’s limits and how this might influence their analysis and interpretations.