Thought, History, and Literature of Islamic Civilization Doctorate Program
What is Islamic Civilization, Thought, History and Literature Doctorate Program?
Scientific studies and researches are rapidly moving beyond the understanding of 'profession-oriented'. Many disciplines are increasingly engaged with topics and methodolgy of religious sciences. In addition to the basic Islamic sciences, the field of Sufism has a wide range of interests from literature to philosophy, from history to sociology, from music to painting, from political philosophy to popular culture, science and art. We are in a dire need for interdisciplinary Institute programs, which steer away from the restrictive classical job-oriented mentality in order not only to preserve these values, which is the product of more than a thousand years of Islamic civilization, but also to make it viable, to penetrate the textures of daily life, to contribute more to our culture and world of thought. The Islamic Civilization, Thought, History and Literature Doctorate Program was structured for this purpose.
The content of the Islamic Civilization, Thought, History and Literature PhD Programme has been structured in association with various disciplines of social and human sciences, and is centered on Sufi thought, especially on the history and literature of Islamic civilization. These programs also aim to contribute to the production of civilization studies in Turkey. Taking a closer look allows us to see that in this geography any research in the field of cultural studies is somehow related to the field of Sufism. Studies on Sufism can also bring new perspectives to those who are interested in sociology and human psychology today.
The education provided by the Institute for Sufi Studies within the scope of Sufi Culture and Literature master's programs has been enriched with the Islamic Civilization, Thought, History and Literature doctoral program, which from a scientific perspective will offer a deeper and wider opportunities.
Turkey is academically following the research topics of Field Studies, Religious Studies and Civilization Studies, which have been studied in the West and Far East countries for many years. This doctoral program also aims to contribute to the development of these fields in Turkey. In Turkey, there are hardly any independent interdisciplinary doctoral programs in basic fields such as literature, history, religious sciences, anthropology, psychology etc. In addressing and discussing the questions and problems of the society, cultural identity, social responsibility, among many other issues on the table, it is largely based on international references. The number of comparative studies is also insufficient.
In the program, it is aimed to increase the number of qualified disciplinary and interdisciplinary studies and researches on manuscripts and primary sources especially Ottoman Turkish with the support of Arabic and Persian languages, which are the research languages of the field. One of the special aims of the Institute of Sufi Studies is to ensure the international awareness of the works produced in the Seljuk and Ottoman cultural geography. For this reason, programs and studies are carried out to provide English writing and speaking proficiency.
The need for an interdisciplinary diversification in the academic institutions in which Sufi studies can be conducted is much greater than is thought. For this purpose, the Sufi Culture and Literature Master's Programs (2016) that we carry out at our Institute, address a dire need and fill a very important gap in Turkey. The programs allow people with different professional backgrounds and experiences to expand and deepen their professional perspectives through associating existing approaches with the field of Sufism.
The current master's program has a student profile that supports the ability to do interdisciplinary work. The number of students who apply to our programs from the fields of Religious Sciences and Theology increases in number every semester, as well as from different disciplines, due to the opportunities offered by the interdisciplinary approach provided by the Institute and the program's focus on the field of Sufism. Students from the field of Religious Studies and Theology will be able to focus on interdisciplinary research topics in the field of Religious Studies, which are applied especially in America, European countries and Japan, in addition to studies in the discipline of Sufism. In addition, many academics from different disciplines have targeted their second careers because of the opportunities offered by the content of the program. Ten percent of the students enrolled in our current master's programs have a PhD, most of them academics. In addition, a significant part of the students consists of professionals who have already Institute from another master's program.
International students and academics working in the field of Religious Studies and Islamic Studies show great interest in the postInstitute studies carried out at our institute. Although the language of the programs is Turkish, courses can be offered by visiting faculty members from abroad, due to the strong English background of our student profile. Likewise, our Institute academic staff has the language proficiency to teach English and Arabic to international students. The “international postInstitute summer school” organized by our institute has attracted great interest in the international community. Through mutual interaction, not only students but also academicians come to know about Turkish Sufi sources, which are almost unknown, especially in the West. The manuscript libraries in Turkey have the richest collections of manuscripts in the world in the field of Sufism. Many researchers from abroad who want to come to Turkey for certain periods and work in the field of Religious Sciences and Sufism apply to Uskudar University, Institute for Sufi Studies.
The opened Islamic Civilization, Thought, History and Literature Doctorate Program will offer new interdisciplinary opportunities that will produce international scientific studies and projects originating from Turkey. Uskudar University, as a thematic university in the field of Behavioral Health and Sciences, provides an integral unity in the fields of Psychology, Philosophy, History, Health, Genetics, and Engineering. The Institute for Sufi Studies takes pride in participating in this progressive academic climate with its academic staff employed for this purpose.
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