Syllabus
Class Meetings:
101 Greenlaw
Hall, Tues., Thurs.,
Instructors:
Professor Charles
Kurzman.
Telephone: 962-1241. E-mail: kurzman@unc.edu. Office hours:
227
Teaching assistant: Aseem Hasnain. E-mail: ahasnain@unc.edu. Office hours: Wednesday and Friday, 10:00-11:00 a.m., 252 Hamilton Hall; or by appointment.
Videoconference administrators: Soliya Connect Program.
Course Goals:
This course is intended to achieve several goals:
1) Inculcate a respectful and
critical approach
towards your own and other belief systems.
2) Introduce you to the
importance, diversity,
and recent transformations of Islamic societies.
3) Establish personal
connections with students in a Muslim-majority society through
videoconferencing collaborations.
4) Introduce you to a variety
of sociological
fields, such as the sociology of religion, international development,
the
sociology of gender, and political sociology.
The course is not intended to:
1) Evangelize for or against
any religion.
2) Suggest that one religion
or religious
culture is better or worse than any other.
3) Evaluate the Islamic world
against divine
standards. For a sociology
of Islam that
does attempt to do this, you may wish to examine Ali Shari'ati,
On
the Sociology of Islam, translated by Hamid Algar
(Berkeley, California: Mizan
Press, 1979);
or other works by
Course Requirements:
To achieve these goals, the class is composed of the following
requirements:
1) Attendance. Not only your
body must be
present, but also your mind; not only are you expected to participate
in
class discussions, but your participation is expected to be based on an
active (not passive) engagement with the course assignments. Grading:
You
will receive 1 point for attendance of each full class period, for a
total of 28 points in
your final grade (out of a total of 100 points). If you are facing an
emergency
and cannot attend class, please contact me by e-mail before
class, explain the situation, and tell me when you expect to be able to
make up the work. Excused absences are the instructor's
judgment call. Students are responsible for material covered in their
absence.
2)
Carl
Ernst, Following
Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World (
Additional readings are available on
the course website (http://www.unc.edu/~kurzman/Soc419.html).
You will need a password from the instructor to access these materials.
For each reading assignment, please answer the reading question in a
paragraph
or two (giving specific page references for all quotations and
paraphrases). These
notes will encourage you to read actively, rather than passively, and
will
help to prepare you for class discussion. Your answers should be turned
in one hour or more prior to class by e-mail (in the body of the
message,
not an attachment) to ahasnain@email.unc.edu
(include yourself as a "cc" recipient to make sure that the message
went
through). Each reading question will receive one point if completed
competently,
for a total of 36 points during the semester. Partial and late
submissions
will receive partial credit.
3) International
Collaboration. This course will participate in the Soliya
videoconferencing network, which will match our students with students
at universities in the Middle East and Europe (student information brochure and orientation video).
3a) Students will meet once each week, individually or in small groups, via videoconference for dialogue with students in Europe and the Middle East, for eight consecutive weeks, beginning the week of October 13 and ending the week of December 1. Attendance is mandatory. You will lose 10 points from your course grade for each dialogue session that you miss. Because of the time difference, these videoconferences will take place in the mornings in 271 Hamilton Hall. The door to this room should be unlocked by 8 a.m., but if it is locked for some reason when you arrive, please go to the Sociology Department office (155 Hamilton Hall) and ask to be let in. Videoconferencing continues during the weeks of Fall Break and Thanksgiving Break -- if you are not going to be on campus during your scheduled videoconference time during those two weeks, you will need to make separate arrangements in order to participate. Please buy or borrow a webcam to attach to your laptop computer for this videoconference.
3b) A solo video-production assignment -- a 3-5 minute segment on the relation of the 2008 U.S. presidential elections with the Middle East or Muslim societies -- is due by the times polls open on Election Day (8 a.m., November 4). If you need assistance, or if you would like to use more powerful video editing software, you are all registered to make an appointment to use the Beasley Multimedia Center in 018 Graham Memorial Hall (open Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.). Please keep in mind that the video feeds you will use for this assignment are copyright protected, so you are not free to post your video reports on YouTube or any other public-access space. Submit your video assignment by uploading it to the Soliya website and notifying the teaching assistant by e-mail that the final version has been uploaded.
4) Final Examination. The
final exam is scheduled
for Friday,
December 5, at
5) Honor Code.
Students are required to submit their own work, not work done by
anybody else. (For the international collaborative project, the
students who collaborate must submit only work done jointly with their
Soliya partner, not work done
by anybody else.) All references to other people's work, whether quoted
or paraphrased, must be
acknowledged in complete bibliographic format like the format used in
the reading list on this syllabus.
Grading:
Attendance: 28 classes x 1 points/each = 28 points
Reading Question Responses: 36 readings x 1 point/each = 36
points
Soliya Collaborative Video: 12 points
Soliya Collaborative Final Product: 12 points
Final Exam: 12 points
Total: 100 points. Approximate grade ranges: A range, 90+. B range,
80-89, C range, 70-79, D range: 60-69, F: <60.
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Class #
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Date
|
Reading #
|
|
|
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1
|
8/19
|
--
|
None
|
None
|
|
2
|
8/21
Bad News/ Good News |
1
|
Bruce B. Lawrence, ed., Messages to the World: The
Statements of Osama Bin Laden. London, England: Verso,
2005, pp. xi-xxiii, 23-30, 160-172. (PDF)
|
What does al-Qa`ida
want?
|
| 3 | 8/26 Political History |
2 |
Asma Afsaruddin, The First Muslims. Oxford, England: Oneworld, 2008, pages 1-26. (PDF)
|
On what basis did Muslims choose a successor to the Prophet Muhammad? |
| 3 |
Richard M. Eaton, "The Geographic
Expansion of Islam," in Clarice Swisher, editor, The Spread of Islam.
San Diego, California: Greenhaven Press, 1999, pages 71-77. (PDF)
|
In what directions did Islam NOT expand initially? Speculate why not! | ||
| 4 | 8/28 Economic History |
4 |
Janet Lippman
Abu Lughod,
"The World System in the Thirteenth
Century," in Michael Adas,
editor, Islamic and European Expansion.
Philadelphia,
|
What role did Islamic societies play in pre-modern world trade? |
| 5 |
Maxime Rodinson, Islam and Capitalism,
translated by Brian Pearce. New York, New York: Pantheon Books, 1973,
pages 28-45.
(PDF)
|
How big an obstacle to trade was the Islamic ban on usury in the medieval period? | ||
| 5 |
9/2 Religion |
6 | Carl Ernst, Following Muhammad. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press, 2003, pages 1-69. | What do you think of the idea of Western psychological "projection" of stereotypes of Islam? |
|
6
|
9/4
Religion |
7
|
Ernst, pages 71-105.
|
Why does Ernst begin
his biography of Muhammad with a description of a calligraphic "hilya"?
|
|
7
|
9/9
Religion |
8
|
Ernst, pages 107-162.
|
In what ways have
Islamic ethics changed since the first years of Islam?
|
|
8
|
9/11
Religion |
9
|
Ernst, pages 163-213.
|
Is Sufism "un-Islamic"?
Presentation by Professor Carl Ernst.
|
|
9
|
9/16
Colonial History |
10
|
Roger Owen, State, Power and Politics in the
Making of the Modern Middle East. London, United Kingdom:
Routledge, 1992, pages 8-31. (PDF)
|
In what ways has
colonialism shaped the politics of the
|
|
10
|
9/18
Post-Colonial |
-- | Complete Soliya registration by September 22. | |
|
11
|
Gregory Starrett, Putting
Islam to Work: Education, Politics, and Religious Transformation in
|
In what ways have
post-colonial states in
|
||
|
12
|
Seyyed
Vali
Reza Nasr, Islamic
Leviathan: Islam and
the Making of State
|
|||
|
11
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9/23
Ideology: Radicalism |
13
|
Bruce B. Lawrence,
Defenders of God: The
Fundamentalist Revolt Against the Modern Age.
|
What does Islamic
radicalism have in common with Christian fundamentalism?
|
|
12
|
9/25
Ideology: Radicalism |
14
|
Hasan
al-Banna, "Between
Yesterday and Today" (1940s) (web)
|
What modern elements
can be discerned in the writings of each of these radical Islamist
leaders?
|
|
15
|
Abu'l-Ala Maudoodi, Islamic
Way of Life (1948), Chapters 3-5 (web)
|
|||
|
16
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Ruhollah
Khomeini,
"Last Will and Testament" (1989), Part 1 (web)
|
|||
|
13
|
9/30
Ideology: Liberalism |
-- | Begin to access Soliya website. Confirm dialogue group schedules. | -- |
|
17
|
Charles Kurzman,
"Liberal Islam in its Islamic Context," in Liberal Islam.
|
What are three ways
to justify liberal Islamic positions?
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||
|
18
|
Abdulkarim Soroush,
"Text in Context" (1995) (web)
|
Is Soroush
a relativist? Why or why not?
|
||
| 14 | 10/2 Soliya |
-- | Start to review Soliya's video footage. | Presentation on video editing by Will Bosley of the Beasley Multimedia Center. |
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15
|
10/7
Religious authority |
19 |
Muhammad Qasim Zaman, The Ulama
in Contemporary Islam: Custodians of Change.
|
How have the ulama responded to threats to their institutional position? |
|
16
|
10/9
Civil society |
20
|
Janine A.
Clark, Islam,
Charity, and Activism: Middle-Class Networks and Social Welfare
in Egypt, Jordan, and Yemen. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University
Press, 2004, pages 42-81. (PDF)
|
Are Islamist organizations
mobilizing the poor through welfare organizations in
|
| 21 |
Jenny B.
White, Islamist
Mobilization in
|
|||
| 17 | 10/14 Soliya dialogue |
-- | Soliya dialogues begin this week. | Review initial Soliya dialogues and brainstorm possible collaborations. |
| 22 | Soliya readings on roots of conflict. (Word file with weblinks) | What is the "West"? The "Arab World"? The "Muslim World"? After defining (or problematizing) these terms, outline what your community understands to be the root of the conflict between the "West" and the "Arab & Muslim World." | ||
| -- | 10/16 | -- | No class: Fall Break. Make arrangements for videoconferencing during the break. | -- |
|
18
|
10/21
Global flows: Oil |
23
|
Jahangir Amuzegar,
"Oil Wealth: A Very Mixed Blessing." Foreign Affairs,
Volume 60,
Number 4, Spring 1982, pages 814-835. (PDF)
|
What's the downside
of massive oil wealth?
|
|
19
|
10/23
Global flows: Capital |
24
|
Samer Bagaeen, "Brand Dubai: The Instant City; or
the Instantly Recognizable City," International
Planning Studies, Volume 12, Number 2, May 2007, pages
173-197. (PDF)
|
What is Islamic about Dubai?
|
|
20
|
10/28
Global flows: Migration |
25
|
Oskar
Verkaiik, Migrants and
Militants: Fun
and Urban Violence in Pakistan. Princeton, New Jersey:
Princeton University Press, 2004, pages 1-19. (PDF)
|
How has migration within Muslim
societies caused new identities to emerge?
|
| 26 | Victoria Bernal, "Migration, Modernity and Islam in Rural Sudan," Middle East Report, Number 211, Summer 1999, pages 26-28. (PDF) | |||
| -- | Soliya assignment: This week, submit a more extensive outline of the contents of your video project. | -- | ||
| 21 | 10/30 Global flows: Migration |
28 | Olivier Roy, Globalized Islam: The Search for a New Ummah. New York, New York: Columbia University Press, 2004, pages 100-147. (PDF) | In what ways do these authors view Muslim migration to Western Europe and North America as a threat? |
| 29 | Daniel Pipes, Militant Islam Reaches America. New York, New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2003, pages 111-125. (PDF) | |||
| 22 | 11/4 Global flows: Terrorism |
30 | Charles Kurzman, The Missing Martyrs: Why There
Are So Few Muslim Terrorists? Unpublished masterpiece,
chapters 1-2. (PDF) |
Why are there so few Muslim terrorists? |
| -- | Soliya assignment: Video due today before the polls open. |
|||
|
23
|
11/6
Gender |
31
|
Lisa Hajjar,
"Domestic Violence and
|
How different is
the problem of domestic violence in these Islamic contexts than in
other
contexts you may be familiar with?
|
|
24
|
11/11
Gender |
32
|
Saba
Mahmood, Politics of
Piety: The Islamic Revival and the Feminist Subject.
Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2005, pages 40-78. (PDF)
|
How does Islamist activism liberate
and limit women?
|
| 33 | Allegra Stratton, Muhajababes: Meet the New Middle East -- Cool, Sexy and Devout. London, England: Constable, 2006, pp. 69-84. (PDF) | |||
|
25
|
11/13
Israel / Palestine |
34
|
|
Based on
the readings, what do you understand to be Soliya's position on Israel
/ Palestine?
|
|
26
|
11/18
Modernity |
35
|
Mark LeVine, Heavy Metal Islam: Rock,
Resistance, and the Struggle for the Soul of Islam. New
York, New York: Three Rivers Press, 2008, pp. 1-59, 253-275 (PDF)
|
How does rock music fit with other
contemporary trends among Muslims that we have studied this semester?
|
|
27
|
11/20
Modernity |
36
|
Fariba
Adelkhah,
Being Modern
in
|
In what ways does
the Islamic Republic of Iran sound familiar to residents of
the
|
| -- | 11/25 | -- | No class this week, but videoconferences continue. Make arrangements for videoconferencing during the break. | -- |
| 28 | 12/2 Conclusions |
-- | Review course material and discussions, including the Soliya experience. | What, if
anything, have we learned in this course? |
| -- | Soliya role reversal exercise: Take
on
the role of the "other" and discuss the most contested issues they
addressed during the semester. Soliya exercise on working for change: Group members formulate ideas as to what they can do individually and as a group to promote improved "Western"-"Arab & Muslim World" relations. |
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| -- | Soliya assignment: Joint final project due 48 hours before your final videoconference. | |||
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--
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12/5
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--
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--
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http://www.unc.edu/~kurzman/Soc419.html,
last updated October 23,