City of knowledge: The development of Shi`i religious learning with particular attention to the h&dotbelow;awzah `ilmiyah of Qum, Iran

In Qum, Iran, the theological center of higher learning, h&dotbelow;awzah `ilmiyah, illuminates a long tradition of scholarship and education in Shi`i Islam. As the seat of the clerical establishment and the preeminent institution of advanced religious education, the hawzah produces Islamic scholars (`ulama') and perpetuates a methodology of learning unique in the Muslim world. This study examines the philosophy, history and organization of the h&dotbelow;awzah `ilmiyah as a Shi`i institution with emphasis on the teaching establishment in Qum since the Islamic revolution of 1979.;The first three chapters investigate the Shi`i perspective on the philosophy of education, as intimated in the Qur'an, and illustrated historically in the lives of the Prophet and Twelve Imams. Analyzing foundational religious texts, the Qur'an and h&dotbelow;adith literature, as well as primary sources, Nahj al-Balaghah, S&dotbelow;ah&dotbelow;ifah al-Sajjadiyah and Kitab al-Irshad, the study draws on contributions in the Islamic sciences to understand the philosophical basis of Shi`i education which underpins the organization of the teaching establishment.;The following three chapters identify the defining influence of individual scholars in shaping the h&dotbelow;awzah's evolution, just as the institution forms their own intellectual orientation. The early intellectual history of the `ulama' mirrors the development of jurisprudence and its relationship to h&dotbelow;awzah curriculum and structure. The institution's social organization continues to rest on the teacher-student relationship, the critical nexus in the transmission of knowledge. Students master sequences of texts at three levels of study, relying on the dialogic tutorial system called mubah&dotbelow;athah, a unique feature of the h&dotbelow;awzah. The study analyzes primary texts and secondary literature, examining educational change in organization, curriculum and instruction since the Islamic revolution.;Typically, historical studies of Islamic education have favored Sunni sources, neglecting the Twelver Shi`i contribution to the theory and practice of advanced religious learning. To date no extensive scholarly study of the function and form of the h&dotbelow;awzah `ilmiyah exists in English. This dissertation addresses those distinct features of Shi`i methodology that influence notions of Islamic education, broadening an understanding of religious traditions in comparative education.