The final exam (which is open-notes and open-book) will consist of a single essay question:
How has your thinking about Islamic law (and possibly about gender as well) evolved over the course of this term? Identify the question(s) that occupied your mind the most, the authors and ideas that proved most important in helping you answer them, the conclusions you reached, and the problems that remain unresolved. I want to hear how you have used this class in your own intellectual development.
Please bring a "blue book" (blank booklet available from the campus bookstore) with you to the exam, which will be held in our usual classroom. If you prefer, you may bring a laptop, type your exam, and submit it to the drop box I will set up in D2L. You may also bring books and notes, including an outline of your thoughts - you don't want to walk into this and just think on the spot! I suggest that you prepare by looking back through the online notes from the term (I will hand out a printout of these in class), writing a list of what you felt were the most important questions and ideas of the term, making note of readings and discussions that proved especially important for your thinking, and then outlining how you will fit all those things into a coherent essay.
In my experience, the best exam essays tend to fill most of a small blue book, or about five double-spaced typed pages; but the important thing is to show that you have been doing some serious and detailed thinking about the course materials and discussions.
Thank you for being a part of this seminar! I wish each of you a rich, refreshing, and thoughtful summer.