Course Syllabus

Instructor: Dr. Sophia Arjana
E-mail: sshafi@iliff.edu
Office Hours: By Appointment Only

Course Schedule

 * Reminder: Class posts are always due on Tuesday and Thursday -- see syllabus for details!

September 8-12: Gender Equity in the Qur’an and the Backlash

            Lecture: The Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah as Authoritative Texts

            Readings: Wadud (entire book), Stowasser, “The Chapter of Eve” 

Discussion Forum Questions: What do Wadud and Stowasser tell us about the status of texts? How can the Qur'an and sunnah by used as tools of liberation? As instruments of oppression?

 

September 15-19: Marriage and Divorce

            Lecture: The Marriage Contract and Temporary Marriage

            Readings: Ali, Ch. 1 and 2

 Discussion Forum Question: What surprised you most in this week’s readings by Ali? What types of challenges does her work present to a “liberationist” Muslim?

 

September 22-26: Sexual Slavery

 Lecture: Slavery in Islam

 Readings: Ali, Ch.3 and 4

 Discussion Forum Question: How do we reconcile the dis-connect between Islamic teachings about the moral evils of greed and the practice of slavery in Muslim communities historically? How might the practice of slavery have influenced the incidence of sexual slavery?

 Paper #1 Due by Noon on September 26

 

 September 29-October 3: Hijab and Political Liberation

            Lecture: Liberation Theology in Islam

            Readings: Muslim Fashion and Anti-Fashion (Sections 1 and 2)

Discussion Forum Question: Is the hijab a tool of liberation, oppression, both, or neither? Is there a difference between the desire of some Muslims to control women’s bodies and the same impulse by non-Muslims to “free” Muslim women from the veil? If so, what is this difference?

 

October 6-10: Gender Equity and Religious Space

            No Lecture/Gathering Days

Note: Please Check Gathering Days Schedule for Days and Times. You are required to be present at both meeting days.

Readings: Ali, Ch. 6 & 7

Guest Scholar via Skype: Maryam Eskandari, Architect of Gender-Equal Mosques

Gathering Days Film: The Noble Struggle of Amina Wadud

NO Discussion Forum Question (automatic 3 points)

 

October 13-17: Gender Apartheid

            Lecture: Islamic “Feminism” and the Veil

Readings: Lamb (all), Silvers http://laurysilvers.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/silvers-god-loves-me.pdf

Discussion Forum Question: Lamb presents a bleak picture of the lives of women in Afghanistan, which seems to have multiple causes apart from gender dynamics. Identify these causes and comment on how they are, or are not, related to Islam.

           

October 20-24: Islamic Sexualities

            Lecture: Female and Queer Imams

            Readings: Ali, Ch. 4, Ze’evi (1-98 )

Discussion Forum Question: How does the West's framing of Islam help or hinder discussions of reform and liberation in Muslim communities? How Ze'evi's text inform our understanding of the need for Islamic reform concerning sexuality?

 

October 27-31: Islamic Sexualities

            Lecture: Pre-Modern and Modern Notions of Sexuality

            Google Hang-Out Session: El-Farouk Khaki, Toronto Unity Mosque

            Readings: Ali, Ch. 5, Ze’evi (99-172)

Discussion Forum Question: Ze’evi points to a radical shift between pre-modern and modern attitudes toward homosexuality. What caused this shift?

Paper #2 Due by Noon on October 31

 

November 3-7: Negotiating Identity

Lecture: Modern Islamic Identities

            Readings: Islamic Fashion and Anti-Fashion (Sections 3, 4, and 5)

Discussion Forum Question: Islamic fashion presents some interesting questions concerning modesty, choice, and liberation. What are some of the ways this week’s readings help us understand the complicated nature of religious identity?

 

November 10-14: Identity, Islamic Dress, and Fashion

            No readings

Discussion Forum Question: For the last week of class, the students choose the discussion prompt. It can relate to anything from the course that you are interested in. Email the discussion to me by November 7th and I will post it online for you.

 

Books for the Course

Kecia Ali, Sexual Ethics & Islam: Feminist Reflections on Qur’an, Hadith and Jurisprudence

Christina Lamb, The Sewing Circles of Herat: A Personal Voyage Through Afghanistan

 

[Article] Laury Silvers, “‘God Loves Me’:  The Theological Content and Context of Early Pious and Sufi Women’s Sayings on Love”

http://laurysilvers.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/silvers-god-loves-me.pdf

[Chapter] Barbara Freyer Stowasser, “The Chapter of Eve”

Emma Tarlow and Annelies Moors, editors, Islamic Fashion and Anti-Fashion: New Perspectives from Europe and North America

Amina Wadud, Qur’an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman’s Perspective

Dror Ze’evi, Producing Desire: Changing Sexual Discourse in the Ottoman Middle East, 1500-1900

Gathering Days Film: The Noble Struggle of Amina Wadud

 

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Overview and Objectives

Evaluation

Policies And Services

Degree Learning Goals

Course Summary:

Date Details Due