Islamic Studies Minor
Coordinator: Associate Professor Marcus-Sells
The Islamic Studies program invites students to study a religion that has shaped history, literature, and lived experiences around the world. Many people in the United States first encounter Islam through the lens of stereotypes and caricatures drawn from the media and political rhetoric. The Islamic Studies program encourages students to question received images and think critically about the intersection between identity politics and the US political context. Students in the program learn about languages, histories, and traditions that unite Muslims from the American South, to the Middle East, to Indonesia. They travel to places like Spain, Tunisia, and Jordan. And they study moments of cultural and political influence stretching from historic Baghdad to the rise of the Ottoman Empire to the establishment of Islam among American Muslim communities in the United States.
Minor Requirements
Required Course: 4 sh
Electives: 16 sh
| ARB 1010 | Elementary Arabic I | 4 sh |
| ARB 1020 | Elementary Arabic II | 4 sh |
| ARB 2010 | Intermediate Arabic I | 4 sh |
| ARB 3110 | Arabic Language Tutorial | 1-4 sh |
| ARB 4110 | Arabic Language Tutorial | 1-4 sh |
| ARH 3330 | Jewish, Christian, & Islamic Cultures: Contact & Conflict | 4 sh |
| COR 3630 | History, Culture and Art of Iraq | 4 sh |
| ENG 3820 | Postcolonial Asian Literature and Globalization | 4 sh |
| GBL 2330 | Mediterranean: Where East Meets West | 4 sh |
| GBL 2440 | Spain and Morocco: Historical & Contemporary Encounters | 4 sh |
| GEO 3640 | Middle East: People and Place | 4 |
| HST 3130 | Modern Africa | 4 sh |
| HST 3160 | The Modern Middle East | 4 sh |
| REL 1870 | African Gods | 4 sh |
| REL 2860/GBL 2860 | India's Identities: Religion, Caste and Gender in Contemporary South India | 4 sh |
| REL 3630 | Women in Islam: Veneration, Veils and Voices | 4 sh |
| REL 3900 | Love and Ecstasy | 4 sh |
| REL 3910 | Beyond Jihad: Encounters with Islam | 4 sh |
| POL 3620 | India and South Asia | 4 sh |
| POL 3660 | Middle East Politics | 4 sh |
- No more than 12 total credit hours from one department may count towards the minor.
- No more than 12 credit hours may be applied to both the Middle Eastern Studies and the Islamic Studies Minors.
- With the approval of the program coordinator, up to 12 credit hours of study abroad courses in Islamic Studies may count for the minor.
- With the approval of the program coordinator, up to 8 credit hours of 4998 or 4999 independent research may count for the minor.
Total Credit Hours: 24
Program Outcomes
Students will be able to develop awareness of the complexity and diversity of Muslim peoples and Islamic institutions while identifying the similarities and differences among them.
Students will be able to identify cultural and linguistic experiences, ideas, and institutions that have connected Muslim peoples across the world.
Students will be able to explain some of the diverse ways that Muslims have related to other peoples.
Students will be able to recognize how Islam as a religion interacts and intersects with cultural traditions and national, political, and ethnic identities.
Students will be able to discuss the importance of social institutions and identities such as gender and race for understanding Muslim people, communities, and societies.