REL 278 GENDER, SEXUALITY AND ISLAM

This course will examine the relationship between gender, sexuality and Islam in the tradition, history, and main social and legal institutions of Islam. Besides examining tenets and texts regarding gender and women, this course focuses on the variety of ways in which Muslims and non-Muslims have understood and interpreted the role of women, sex, and gender in Islam. We will review the discussions about gender and women surrounding the life of the Prophet of Islam, Islamic pre-modern, modern and contemporary history, and the Quran. The course is ultimately an attempt to understand gender and women’s role in Islam and society, never as a static and crystallized snapshot of the world through the eyes of any specific group inside or outside the Muslim community. In summary, this course aims to help students to elaborate their understanding of gender relationships in Islam by giving different interpretations and perspectives within the tradition and modern literature