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
See Taylor Library's list of online book sellers for purchasing options.
Course Summary:
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