Offered:

This course is offered in Term 2 every year (pending sufficient enrolment). 2023 Term 2 courses begin the week starting 1 May 2023.

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Date & Time:

This Term 2 course meets Mondays beginning 1 May 2023, 7:00-8:30 pm (New Zealand time). The course meets for 10 consecutive weekly sessions. The final session will be held on Monday 3 July 2023. If you live outside of New Zealand and wish to Zoom in to our live class sessions, check the nearest local Time Zone equivalent below.

Time Zone equivalents:

for live-streaming Zoom Sessions from New Zealand. If your Time Zone doesn't suit our live-streamed class, you can also access our courses by watching the live-recorded sessions that are posted to the course webpage each week, usually the next day.

  • Honolulu, Hawai’i: begins Sun 30 Apr 2023, 9:00-10:30pm

  • US Pacific: begins Mon 1 May 2023, 12:00-1:30am

  • US Eastern: begins Mon 1 May 2023, 3:00 -4:30am

  • London, UK: begins Mon 1 May 2023, 8:00 -9:30am

  • Paris, France: begins Mon 1 May 2023, 9:00-10:30am

  • New Delhi, India: begins Mon 1 May 2023, 12:30-2:00pm

  • Bangkok, Thailand: begins Mon 1 May 2023, 2:00-3:30pm

  • Singapore: begins Mon 1 May 2023, 3:00-4:30pm

  • Tokyo, Japan: begins Mon 1 May 2023, 4:00-5:30pm

  • Sydney, Australia: begins Mon 1 May 2023, 5:00-6:30pm

Description:

This ten-week course, part of our World Religions series, provides a detailed introduction to the history, texts, beliefs and practices of the Islamic faith.

Individual sessions focus on: • Course Introduction; • Essential History: Life of the Prophet; • Essential History: Succession; • Sects & Denominations; • Sacred Texts; • Beliefs and Practices; • Islamic Festivals and Commemorations.

Course curriculum

    1. EarthDiverse Course Information

    2. EarthDiverse Zoom Instructions

    3. Islamic History Timeline - Global Context PDF

    1. 2023 T2.1 Islam - Course Introduction PDF

    2. 20230501 T2.1 RD301 Understanding Islam video

    1. 20230508 T2.2 Islam - Al-Jahilliya & Life of the Prophet 1 PDF

    2. 20230508 T2.3 RD302 Islam video

    1. 20230515 T2.3 Islam - Life of the Prophet 2 PDF

    2. 20230515 T2.3 RD302 Islam video

    1. 20230529 T2.4 Islam-Life of the Prophet 3 & Succession 1 PDF

    2. 20230529 T2.4 RD302 Islam video

    1. 20230605 T2.5 Islam - Succession 2 & Sects & Denominations 1 PDF

    2. 20230605 T2.5 RD302 Islam video

Additional course info:

  • Videos and PDF content from class presentations are uploaded weekly 1-2 days after each live session
  • Begins Mon 1 May 2023
  • NZ time: 7:00-8:30pm

Distance Learning:

This course has distance-learning options for those unable to attend the live class sessions in Hamilton. Students have three options for attending our courses once they have registered: attend in-person classes in our Hamilton classrooms at the regularly scheduled day and time, attend our live on-line classroom sessions via Zoom at the regular scheduled day and time, watch the live-recorded class sessions at your leisure, at a time, day and place more suited to your schedule. These options can be mixed and matched throughout the course to suit your own availability and location.

Distance-Learning options:

  • In addition to our in-person classes in Hamilton, our courses offer distance learning options for those unable to attend classes in-person. Live-streamed Hamilton classes are available via free Zoom software for those living outside the Waikato. Live-streaming allows you to participate fully in your own learning, ask questions of the instructor and participate fully in the same way as if you were in the physical classroom.

  • Those unable to attend the scheduled date and time of the actual class sessions, or those who need to miss a class or two due to previous engagements or unexpected illness, can watch any or all of the live-recorded video sessions on their computers, laptops, tablets or mobile devices and study at their own pace and in their own time.

  • Detailed instructions on how to access our distance learning components will be sent after completing your registration. There are no additional fees for this service. However, distance learners will need access to a desktop or laptop computer with a good quality web-camera (tablet devices and mobile phones can also access our live-streamed classes), a built-in microphone (most modern laptops have built-in microphones) or a headset with a microphone. You will also need to download and install the free Zoom software on your computer or device. Those accessing the video recordings will be able to do so with a simple web browser on any device.

Meet our Instructor

Executive Director, Senior Lecturer Dr Todd Nachowitz, PhD

Dr Todd Nachowitz, PhD, is the Founder and Executive Director of EarthDiverse. Todd is a Hamilton-based lecturer, anthropologist, environmentalist and diversity educator. He previously taught in Religious Studies at the University of Waikato, teaching courses on Comparative Religion and Religious Fundamentalism & Extremism. Todd holds a Masters Degree in Development Anthropology from Syracuse University in upstate New York (1991) and a PhD from the University of Waikato (2015) in Political Science and Public Policy where he completed his thesis on diversity governance and the Indian diaspora in New Zealand.

Prior to settling in New Zealand in 1995, Todd lived and worked in the United States, India, Pakistan and Nepal. He spent 11 years in South Asia as the Academic Director for university study-abroad programmes in Varanasi, India (for the University of Wisconsin-Madison); Lahore, Pakistan (for the University of California-Berkeley); and Kathmandu, Nepal (for School for International Training, based in Brattleboro, Vermont, USA) focusing on language, culture and religion.

Todd speaks Hindi and Urdu, and is a specialist in comparative world religions and the history, religions, languages and cultures of South Asia. He also currently teaches our Hindi and Urdu language courses and the Religious Diversity courses at EarthDiverse.

Pricing options:

All prices in New Zealand dollars and includes GST. Unwaged includes students, seniors and retirees.

Location:

We're located just a couple of shops north of the Hamilton Central Bus Station (on the same side of the street), on the first floor above Copier Word. Our Entrance is on the left side of the building. Those looking for parking for our evening classes can park just in front of the building in any of the available car parks. Daytime parking can be found in our dedicated car parks, or free 2-hour on-street daytime parking can be found just in front of Anglesea Street.

EarthDiverse, 401 Anglesea St., Hamilton, New Zealand


Materials:

This class has no assignments, required readings, quizzes, tests or exams. All classes encourage questions and group discussion. PDF copies of each class presentation are emailed to all participants the next day so that you are free to focus on class content rather than taking notes. You are most welcome to come, sit back, relax, take part in and enjoy the discussions!

Notes:

Detailed Syllabi are available at the start of each Term. Any Term can be taken independently of the others, and there are no prerequisites for any of the Term courses. This class has no assignments, required readings, quizzes, tests or exams. All classes encourage questions and group discussion. PDF copies of each class presentation are emailed to all participants the next day so that you are free to focus on class content rather than taking notes. You are most welcome to come, sit back, relax, take part in and enjoy the discussions! Course fees include a short tea/coffee/snack break in the middle of each session. There are no refunds for missed classes. Guests of registered participants are welcome to attend a single class at no charge. Certificates of Completion for any particular Term Course or Series are available for Professional Development purposes upon request at the end of each Term or Series.

Prerequisites :

There are no prerequisites for this course

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