How to Read the Qur’an

April 24, 2012

Carl Ernst, William Rand Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies and Co-Director, Carolina Center for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Civilizations

Despite a high level of general anxiety about the very existence of the Qur’an, most people don’t have a sense of how one would read this book. How can one approach the Qur’an from a literary and historical perspective that is not embroiled in theological debates? Carl Ernst offers a chronological reading of the text as it unfolded over time, its relation with earlier writings, and the way it employs symmetrical composition (ring structure) to make points.

Time: 3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.