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Learner Reviews & Feedback for The Cosmopolitan Medieval Arabic World by Universiteit Leiden

4.8
stars
382 ratings

About the Course

Did you know that Arabic was for centuries the lingua franca in an area stretching from the south of Spain to the Chinese border? Did you know that the Middle East under Muslim rule in those days was the world’s beating heart of trade, but also of science and scholarship? Did you know that Islam in its formative period was heavily influenced by existing cultures in the region, like Indian, Greek, Persian and Byzantine culture? Did you know that for many centuries after the establishment of the Muslim Empire the majority of the population remained largely Christian and Jewish? Did you know that they held a protected status in Islamic law? Did you know that this generally open-minded, curious and open society stimulated many great innovations and inventions? Did you know that European scholarship in the Renaissance leaned heavily on the texts and inventions from the Middle East which were the outcome of this sophisticated advanced society? In this course we will focus on the fascinating history of the Arabic Medieval World. We will take you on a journey through the Middle Ages starting off in eighth-century Baghdad. Along the old pilgrim trails we will go to places like Mecca, Jerusalem and Najaf. We will show you the impressive markets of places like Cairo and Samarkand. However we will not hide the dark sides of society either, by introducing you to the flourishing widespread slave trade. We will visit the Abbasid court, the Harem of the caliph, and the palace of the Mamluk Sultan. We will show you some beautiful medieval manuscripts, that live on as the silent witnesses of the impressive achievements of scientists and medical doctors of this forgotten era. All along we will present you with historiographical debates and dilemma’s. Reflecting on the way we look at and interpret history. And while taking you on this journey, we will travel back and forth in time explaining to you how events of the past affected and shaped the world as we know it today. Welcome to the Cosmopolitan Medieval Arabic World! Enroll now and follow this course for free. --- Testimonial: Dear Prof. Sijpesteijn I am sending this email in gratitude for the Leiden University team for this course. Please thank the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs for offering it on Coursera, the Faculty of Humanities for creating the lovely course content and the excellent reading material. Rarely have I seen an MOOC that is this well-researched and thought through. This is in addition to the excellent resources provided and the creative media. I finished the course and presently doing the honors-track. If I may introduce myself, I am Radi Radi, a Palestinian-Jordanian who lives on "Shajaret Al Dur" St. in Amman, Jordan. It was quite an coincidence to learn about her here. I work as a pilot and currently we are not flying anywhere currently so I thought of finishing this course. I am a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from Ryerson Univeristy, Canada and this really felt like the 100-level electives I took in that it really is a university-level course. I have bought a few books that I have read about in your course and that meant that I have something else to do in this corona-imposed hiatus. After Once aviation kicks back into gear, I hope to be flying to Amsterdam Again. When that happens, I plan on bringing you guys a gift from Amman for your efforts. Many Thanks Radi Radi...

Top reviews

KW

May 30, 2022

I learned so much in this course. I definitelyrecommend doing the extra readings and assignments in the honors track. The extra knowledge is worth the effort. I am delighted I found this course!

DG

Dec 10, 2019

Thank you for this beautiful course ! I learned a lot and most important, as a European, this course changed my vision of the Islamic world. This course opens my mind. Thank you !

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26 - 50 of 123 Reviews for The Cosmopolitan Medieval Arabic World

By Alexandre C

Feb 9, 2021

congratulataions

By Russell B

May 17, 2020

I loved this course and recommend it highly. It was well organized, had good, clear, enthusiastic lecturers and some great materials. The subject matter is fascinating. I did have some criticisms - for example, there was a tendency to condescend to students, assuming we were all starting out with Eurocentric and "Orientalist" assumptions that we had to be converted from. Still, I won't harp on things that worried me that might not worry others. Overall it's a beautifully designed and executed course, and despite some criticisms that I have it exceeded my expectations. Thanks to all who were involved!

By Barnak D

Mar 3, 2022

Very intruiging and interesting course presenting an often ignored past of medieval Islamic history. Course materials and readings are good but the review system is broken. Honours content needs better optimization.

By Karen B

Jun 5, 2020

Es un curso muy interesante. Videos, audios, lecturas que nos proporcionan una visión del mundo árabe en la época medieval. lo disfruté mucho.

By Ilham Q

Oct 28, 2021

Very good. engaging and interesting content and lectures partitioned by quizzes to show progress. A few technical issues but overall, superb!

By Susana L T

Aug 18, 2020

El curso se ofrece en español, pero posee podcast en idioma inglés lo que imposibilita la comprensión, no pude completar.

By Jordi T

Mar 12, 2021

This course was too biased, too pro-muslim society, always comparing it to western society as if this was the role model. Sentences like "Baghdad had a million of citizens while London was a fishing village" prevented me from enjoying the course. It would have been nice if the subjects would have taught free of comparison, just as they are, allowing the students to get their own interpretations and ideas.

By A. Z

Sep 21, 2022

Terrific course! As a student history enthusiast, I finished this course in four months, and it has been an engaging and fruitful experience. Thank you for your hard work, I especially loved the discussion about orientalism and the course's consciousness of its influence throughout the lessons. Contrary to biased and stereotypical views, this course really keeps an open-minded perspective, which made it more enjoyable and valuable as well!

By advocate n

Aug 21, 2023

This course was fantastic and fascinating for me. I have cleared my views on how the medieval ages, some times it was thought to be a so called dark ages, is not as much true. The contribution of the medieval Arabic ages is a key mile stone for our todays explosion of knowledge, specifically, the scientific outlook of the NATURE.

Thanks to Universiteit Leiden and Coursera team. Pray all them to more success and guidance.

By Patricia H

Sep 5, 2020

An excellent course. Well paced and well organized. I learned so much from this course. The lecturers were good and knew their course work. Great videos and podcasts. I enjoyed the library readings. The quizzes were too easy I feel. Possibly some extracurricular work would be gratefully accepted. Overall I am very pleased with this course

By pedro c a

Jun 17, 2020

I was responsible for online training at a big company and I am familiar with online courses. This was the best online course so far in Cursera and I did other very good ones. Combination of good materials, different tasks and evaluations make a great course. I want to congratulate the teachers of the University of Leyden on this course.

By David K

Sep 9, 2022

I thought the course was fantastic. The lectures were all interesting and helpful, and I found the additional readings and further reading suggestions very helpful. My only complaint - it would be fantastic if the Leiden crew put together additional courses, building on this course.

By Pablo S S

Jul 20, 2019

Beautiful, beautiful course on the Medieval Arabic World. I especially enjoyed the lectures on Orientalism and all the information on the history of medicine. Proud to be a Leiden alumnus and to see the university sharing knowledge, freely and widely, across the Internet. Thank you!

By Elizabeth A

Oct 25, 2022

Great course. Lots of additional sources cited for supplemental educational opportunities. The Leiden University itself has Islamic manuscripts available other than those shown in the videos. My only complaint is that some of the links aren't working and need to be redone.

By Kathryn E

Aug 4, 2021

Excellent course. You will be enlightened by a culture that has been misrepresented in our modern age. We owe so much to the Medieval Arabic World that we take for granted today. I'm grateful I could take this class and learn so much.

By Alexandra O

Oct 15, 2020

The informations given in this course were very interesting. I feel like now I have a better understanding of the world. I was fascinated by a lot of stuff.

CONS: some of the texts that were given as lecture were somehow long and dull

By Miriam M

Nov 6, 2020

This course is really amazing! It shows us how medieval arabic world helped the development of the whole world in Science, culture, Medicine, Astronomy and so on. Congratulations to Leiden University for this incredible work.

By Barbara N

Mar 28, 2023

Outstanding. The presenters were excellent and had very interesting lectures, with helpful, useful visual accompaniments, A fascinating and enlightening introduction to what was for me an unknown world. Thank you.

By Alireza T Y

Apr 13, 2023

I really enjoyed the material presented in this course. It was pretty useful and I highly recommend it to the people who are interested in medieval Arabic world. Great thanks to the university of Leiden.

By DONATELLA C

May 8, 2020

Ho vissuto la piu' bella ed intensa esperienza formativa possibile.

Del tutto inaspettata quanto entusiasmante. Corso strutturato magnificamente ricco di spunti di approfondimento.

Grazie.

By Kathy C

Aug 11, 2022

Really interesting course covering a wide range of topics. I had no knowledge of this subject, perfect for beginners, and I now have more interest in Arabic history. Thank you

By Muhammed E E

Apr 13, 2020

Probably it's better than most of the course you take at your university. Ranging from articles to videos everything is well-designed. Highly recomended.

By Sobuha L

Jun 21, 2020

Great course. With very diverse resources and clear mini lectures, I've learned so much and gained a different perspective to see Medieval Arabic World.

By alishan k

Mar 31, 2020

Such an enlightened course. I really learned a lot. its really a good decision to be part of this academic study on Cosmopolitan Medieval Arabic World.

By Roberto V

Jul 18, 2022

Excellent course. Brought an amazing array of information sources to sublement the lectures. Will probably do it again, as it was an exciting course.