Later Islamic Civilization

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is the second half of a two-part survey of Islamic civilization and culture from the sixth century to the present. This part focuses on the last six centuries (from roughly 1500 C.E. to the present), and includes a brief overview of the rise of the new religion, its ethics, and spiritual traditions; the relation between politics and religion, from world empires to European colonialism and independence; questions of religion and gender, such as Islamic feminism; and case studies on Shi`ism in Iraq, the Taliban in Afghanistan, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

None. This course assumes no prior knowledge of the subject. In addition, one does not need to be a believer in any particular religion, or for that matter a skeptic, to realize the importance of Islam in history and in the contemporary world.

• Gaining information about the Islamic civilization, which includes history, politics, culture, and religion: to give you access to some basic information about the origins and historical development of Islamic civilization, without attempting to discuss all details comprehensively (that would be an impossible task). This will be done primarily by examining historical studies and fictional interpretation of different features of Islamic civilization, as well as through primary sources (religious and literary texts, film, art, music) that illustrate some of the ways in which Muslims and the non-Muslims with whom they interacted established the structures of their societies. The classes are designed to clarify the relationship between these sources and the larger themes to which they are connected.
  We hope that students will come away from this class recognizing several historical points: First, that Muslims in the contemporary world, while sharing the same religion, are amazingly diverse in ideology, class, race, education, politics, and even religion. Second, that people who identify themselves as Muslims have had remarkably complex and different ideas about what is meant by Islam. Third, that global forces have had a major impact on largely Muslim societies, even as Islamic civilization and culture has been a part of the history of Europe and America.
• Understanding problems related to the study of religion and history: to equip you with tools to evaluate the ways in which religion is conceptualized. The particular problems that we will discuss in relation to Islam including negative media stereotypes (particularly those involving violence and gender) and "essentialism" (the belief that a particular religion is always the same, regardless of history, location, economics, or politics).
• Developing analytical skills: to refine skills in thinking and writing, so that after the course students will be able to offer informed and insightful analysis of topics in the history of different cultures, including but not limited to Islam.

The following texts for this course are available at UNC Student Stores:

Juan Cole, Sacred Space And Holy War: The Politics, Culture and History of Shi'ite Islam. I.B. Tauris, 2002.
Miriam Cooke, Women Claim Islam: Creating Islamic Feminism Through Literature. Oxford University Press, 2000.
Carl W. Ernst, Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World. UNC Press, 2003.
Amin Ma'alouf, Leo Africanus. New Amsterdam Books, 1990. This is a fictionalized account of the famous sixteenth-century traveler.
Ahmed Rashid, Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil & Fundamentalism in Central Asia. Yale University Press, 2000.
Sahar Khalifeh, Wild Thorns. Interlink Pub Group, 1999.


For those who want additional background or textbook-style information, see the Encyclopedia Britannica Macropedia article on Islamic Civilization; it is a superb summary.

• Extensive use of films from UNC's large collection of films on Islam and the Middle East
• Use and evaluation of Internet materials on Islam

Last modified: 1/6/2004