REL1830 Engaging Islam

1.9 billion people – almost one-quarter of the world’s population - count themselves as Muslims. Moreover, the ideas, artwork, practices, and textual traditions of Muslims have engaged an uncountable number of non-Muslim peoples on every continent, from Jews and Christians in the Middle East, to Hindus and British colonialists in India, to enslaved Africans in the Americas. Students in this course will trace and find their place in this global, interconnected web by critically engaging with Islamic narratives and artifacts about the past, the present, and even the future.

Credits

4 sh

Course Types

Middle East Studies Elective; IGS- Middle East Regional Concentration

Offered

• Fall

Course Outcomes

1. Students will recognize and describe breadth and diversity of Muslim peoples and within Islamic traditions while identifying the similarities and differences among them.
2. Students will recognize and analyze the social construction of Islam over time and within specific contexts.
3. Students will identify cultural and linguistic experiences, ideas, and institutions that have connected Muslim peoples across the world.
4. Students will explain some of the diverse ways that Muslims have related to other peoples.
5. Students will recognize and explain ways in which Islamic traditions have cultural, political, and/or economic significance.
6. Students will discuss the importance of social institutions and identities such as gender and race for understanding Muslim peoples, communities, and societies.