Course Syllabus

Required Texts:

Said, Edward. Orientalism. New York: Vintage, 1978.

978-0394740676

 

Arjana, Sophia. Muslims in the Western Imagination. New York: Oxford, 2015.

978-0199324927

 

Aidi, Hisham D. Rebel Music: Race, Empire, and the New Muslim Youth Culture. New York, Vintage Books, 2014.

978-0307279972

 

Majd, Hooman. The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran. Norwell, MA: Paradox, 2009.

978-0767928014

 

*Supplementary Readings will be posted on Canvas.

DRAFT OF SYLLABUS -- Please note some changes may be made before class begins spring quarter.

 

Islam and the West

Spring 2016

 

Dr. Sophia Arjana

sarjana@iliff.edu

Office Hours: By Appointment Only

 

Course Description

This course examines the power East/West binary in academic scholarship surrounding Islam and political and cultural discourse about the “Middle East.” We begin with a history of anti-Muslim discourse in the West, through an examination of the male Muslim characters invented in the European and American imagination. This is followed by Edward Said’s seminal book on the problem of Orientalism, which frames the ways in which this field of knowledge impacts the way we see the world, even today. Building upon this theoretical foundation, we turn our attention to the ways in which European and American Muslims interact with modernity today, as well as the ways in which Muslims living outside of the West express themselves in the contemporary milieu.

 

Required Texts

 

Said, Edward. Orientalism. New York: Vintage, 1978.

978-0394740676

 

Arjana, Sophia. Muslims in the Western Imagination. New York: Oxford, 2015.

978-0199324927

 

Aidi, Hisham D. Rebel Music: Race, Empire, and the New Muslim Youth Culture. New York, Vintage Books, 2014.

978-0307279972

 

Majd, Hooman. The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran. Norwell, MA: Paradox, 2009.

978-0767928014

 

*Supplementary Readings will be posted on Canvas.

 

Course Requirements

 

Weeks One-Four: Reading Reflections

Each student will post a reflection on the text that summarizes the key points of the author and the reading AND post a response to another student’s post. Each post should be a minimum of 50 words. These are due by Friday noon.

20% (5 points per week)

 

Week Five (GATHERING DAYS): Observing Orientalism

Each student will observe/reflect upon a book, television show, or film that utilizes Orientalist imagery and provide an analysis for the class, which will include visual or/and textual examples of such images. You must also include a chart or graph that explains or depicts the East/West binary, which you may want to incorporate into your presentation. 

40%

 

Weeks Six-Nine: Class Discussions

Weekly discussions in which each student will post a response to the question/prompt AND a response to another student’s post.

20% (5 points per week)

 

Week Ten: Podcast

Each student will record a twenty-minute podcast on a topic of their choice that is related to a topic covered in the class. You will be required to post a summary of your podcast and a bibliography on Canvas to share with the class. If you want to put together a "shared" podcast with someone else in the class, you are welcome to.

20%

 

*Note on Grading: I grade on a 100-point scale, which makes it pretty easy to figure out your progress throughout the course. However, if you want an average of your grade at any time, please email me at sarjana@iliff.edu

 

Attendance and Participation

 

**You are required to attend BOTH DAYS of Gathering Days. Failure to do so will result in a failing grade in this class. Gathering Days for this class is on April 22^nd (1-5 p.m.) and 23^rd (8 a.m.-Noon)

 

Schedule of Classes

 

Week One: Pre-Orientalist Views of Muslims

Lecture: Islam in the European Imagination

Arjana, Chapters 1-3

 

Week Two: Pre-Orientalist Views of Muslims

Lecture: Islam in the American Imagination

Arjana, Chapters 4-6

 

Week Three: Orientalism

Lecture: Introduction to Orientalism

Said, Chapters 1 and 2

 

Week Four: Orientalism

Lecture: Critiques of Said

Said, Chapter 3

 

Week Five: Islam in a Post/Neo-Colonial World

Aidi, Chapters 1-4

GATHERING DAYS April 22^nd and 23rd

 

Week Six: Islam in a Post/Neo-Colonial World

Lecture: The Muslim Body and the Veil

Aidi, Chapters 5-9

Dwyer, Claire. “The Geographies of Veiling: Muslim Women in Britain.” Geography 93, no. 3 (2008): 140-47.

Fassin, Eric. “National Identities and Transnational Intimacies: Sexual Democracy and the Politics of Immigration in Europe.” Public Culture 22, no. 3 (2010): 507-29.

 

Week Seven: Islam and Liberation in a Post/Neo-Colonial World

Lecture: Muslim Voices in Popular Culture (Muslim Comics)

Aidi, Chapters 10-12

*Watch one episode or Burka Avenger OR read an issue of Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan.

 

Week Eight: Islam and Modernity The Iranian Case

Lecture: Iran 101

Majd, Chapters 1-5

Khiabany, Gholam and Annabelle Sreberny. “The Politics of/in Blogging in Iran.” Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East 27, no. 3 (2007): 563-79.

 

Week Nine: Islam and Modernity The Iranian Case

Lecture: Iran and the Question of Modernity

Majd, Chapters 6-9

Mahdavi, Mojtaba, ‘Post-Islamist Trends in Postrevolutionary Iran,’ Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East 31, no. 1 (2011): 94-109.

 

Week Ten: Podcasts due by Tuesday Noon

* Please note that podcasts are due Tuesday so that I can get graduate grades done and everyone on their way to summer break!