Course Title: Islam Culture/Society

ANT 3930

Section 12C6

Fall 2013

Meeting Periods Tuesday period 4 and Thursday period (4-5).

Classroom: NEB 0202

Instructor: Khadidja Arfi

Office: B325 Turlington Hall

Email:

Office Hours: 9am-10am and 12:50pm-1:40pmand by appointment

Course Overview and Objectives

The course is an introduction to the fundamental concepts of Islam and the role the religious ideas and institutions play in Muslim communities.This course usesa combination of some classical and theoretical texts together with a rich variety of ethnographic accounts of Muslim societies produced by anthropologists. This course aims to a better understanding of the Islamic religious tradition. It offers an insight into various forms of Islam as practiced in different geographic, social, and cultural contexts. Topics explored include daily salat (prayer) performance, Ramadan (fasting), Hajj (pilgrimage), Id al-adha (the feast of sacrifice), zakat (almsgiving), and the representation of Islam. The use of an anthropological perspectivedirects our attention to the multiplicity of perspectives involved in the study of local forms of Islam. We also recognize the transformation of knowledge and power relation of Muslim communities with the establishment of print media and the introduction of new media including the use of television, broadcast media, cassette recordings, and the internet. Thus, with the transformation inthe perception and religious obligations and practices, in a globalized word, distinctive “Muslim” consumer cultures emerge within Muslim communities, especially in relation to Halal food consumption and Islamic fashion industry.

Students Learning Outcomes

  • Get a direction toward more research in the emerging academic field of the anthropology of Islam
  • Appreciate the importance of fieldwork and comparison of theory and methodology
  • Further their understanding of Muslims in a critical and reflexive manner
  • Appreciate the presented glimpses of Islamic diversity through different anthropological accounts
  • Discover that studying existing discourses and practices can contribute to a refined understanding of Muslims, their religion, and their practice.
  • Explore the ways Muslims adjust their practices to the challenges of modern life and support and question each other by accounting to the diversity of traditions practiced by Muslims
  • Become informed about variation even in common forms of Islamic practices and the tenets of Islam

Textbooks and Required Readings

The textbooks for the course are as follows:

  • The Anthropology of Islam Reader, edited by: Kreinath, Jens. Routledge: London and New York, (2012).
  • Anthropology of Islam by Gabriele Mirranci, (2008). (One Chapter only) available through course reserve
  • The Halal Frontier: Muslim Consumers in a Globalized Market by Johan Fishcher, (2011)
  • Visibly Muslim: fashion, politics, faith, by Emma Tarlo, (2010).

[On reserve readings, videos, DVDs may be obtained through course reserve at Library West]

Other resources:video clips to be chosen as needed

Exams, Writing Assignments and Grading

Exams: Take Home Exam one on week eleven. Take Home Exam two on week sixteen [15% x2- 30%]

Papers/Writing: the writing assignments are of two forms:

1. Weekly short reflections, comments or questions on the assigned readingsent via Sakai to instructor [5%]

2. One page report on the “in the field” sent via Sakai to instructor assignment [10%]

[In the field] assignment is for each student to be a participant observer on one or both of the communal Muslim rituals:

  • Friday congressional prayer or one of the daily prayers at the local mosque of Gainesville on University Street (ICG)
  • Id al-adha (the feast of the sacrifice) communal gathering (Tuesday 10/15/13; place to be announced)

3. Short paper (4-6 pages) based on the ethnography of a specific Muslim practice sent via Sakai to instructor (25%)

Oral presentation: of the ethnography of a specific Muslim practice (15%)

Participation: students come to class ready to discuss the assigned resources (5%).

Attendance:Attendance is required. Excused absences need to be documented10%

Pop Quizzes: fulfill attendance 2%

Policies on make-up work:No late assignments and make-up exams except with instructor’s permission.

Final Grades. A detailed breakdown of final grades is as follows:

A=93+, A-=90-92.9, B+=87-89.9, B=83-86.9, B-=79-82.9, C+=75-78.9, C=72-74.5, C-=69-71.9, D=62-68.9, E=<62

One can also link to the following:

Course Policies and Procedures

Classes, Readings, & Attendance Policy:

  • Students are responsible to get their books prior to the beginning of class
  • Studentsare responsible to follow the syllabus on Sakai
  • Studentsare responsible to read the assigned text prior to class period
  • Studentsare responsible to post on Sakai their comments/questions/critic prior to class period
  • Studentsare required to attend class unless excused for out of the ordinary circumstances [attendance is taken each lecture]

Classroom Behavior Rules:total courtesy for classmates and instructor is required.

Communication: Students are in a course in which we communicate with each other through academiclearning, thus, students should communicate withclassmates and instructor with total respectandcourtesy when discussing the course subjects.

Academic Honesty: Students must conform to the University of Florida’s academic honesty policy regarding plagiarism and other forms of cheating. The university specifically prohibits cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation, bribery, conspiracy, and fabrication. Violationswill lead to the Department’s and the University’s procedures for dealing with academic dishonesty. All students are expected to honor their commitment to the University’s Honor Code and the student conduct code.

Accommodation for Students with Disabilities

Students requesting classroom accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students Office. The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the Instructor when requesting accommodation.

Please make any requests by the second week of class.

UF Counseling Services

Resources are available on-campus for students having personal problems or lacking clear career and academic goals that interfere with their academic performance. These resources include:

  1. University Counseling and Wellness Center, 3190Radio Road, 392-1575, personal and career counseling
  2. Sexual Assault Recovery Services (SARS), Student Health Care Center, 392-1161, sexual counseling
  3. Career Resource Center, Reitz Union, 392-1601, career development assistance and counseling
  4. Reading & Writing Center, Broward Hall, 392-0791, writing assistance, study skills, test preparation

Course Outline

Critical Dates:

  • Paper topic Proposal: Due October 12[on Sakai]
  • Take Home Exam I: Week eleven:Thursday 10/24; Wednesday 10/30, due before 8:00am[on Sakai]
  • Take Home Exam II: Week 16: Thursday 11/14; Wednesday 11/20 due Wed. before 8:00am[on Sakai]
  • Oral presentation: From 11/19 – 11/26 (select a date)
  • Papers Due: December 07, 2013 or earlier [on Sakai]

Course Schedule:

Week # / Day / THEME OF THE WEEK / READINGS
Week 1 / Thursday
08/ 22/13 / Introduction to class
Week 2 / Tuesday
08/27/13 / Anthropological Approaches
to Islam (43-93)
1. conceptualizing Islam (51-74) / Kreinath, Jens edited book *Anthropological approaches to Islam by Jens Kreinath (43-47)
*Recognizing Islam by Michael Gilsenan (51-64)
Thursday
08/29/13 / *Islam Observed by Clifford Geertz (65-74)
Week 3 / Tuesday 09/03/13 / 2. Approaching Islam / *Beyond Ideology by Abdul-Hamid el-Zein (77-92)
Thursday
08/05/13 / * The Idea of an Anthropology of Islam by Talal Assad (93-110)
Week 4 / Tuesday 09/10/13 / Religious practices of Islam
1. Daily Prayers (111-156) / *Rehearsed spontaneity and the conventionality of ritual: Disciplines of Salat by Saba Mahmood (121-141)
+ chapter 2: Islam: Beliefs, History, and Rituals; in the Anthropology of Islam by
Gabriele Mirranci (13-30)
Thursday 09/12/13 / Continue…
1. Daily Prayers / *between belief and unbelief lies the performance of Salat: meaning and efficacy of a Muslim ritual by Kheiro Henkel (142-156)
+short movie on how Muslims perform daily prayer
Week 5 / Tuesday 09/17/13 / Religious practices of Islam
(continue)
2. Fasting during
the month of Ramadan
(159-188) / *the observance of Ramadan in Swahili-Land by P.J. Frankl (159-173)
Thursday 09/19/13 / Continue.. Fasting / *Being good in Ramadan by samuliSchielke (174-188)
Week 6 / Tuesday 09/24/13 / Religious practices of Islam
(continue)
3. Pilgrimage to Mecca
(191-212) / *The social significance of the hajj for Thai Muslims by Raymond Scupin
(191-197)
Thursday 09/26/13 / Continue… Pilgrimage to Mecca / *The strength in the song by Barbara M. Cooper (198-212)
+ Inside Mecca Documentary
Week 7 / Tuesday 10.01/13 / Religious practices of Islam
(continue)
4. Feast of Sacrifice
(215-242) / *On scriptural essentialism and ritual variation: Muslim Sacrifice in Sumatra and Morocco by John R Bowen (214-229)
Thursday 10/3/13 / *”Sealing the Quran: Offering and sacrifice among Pakistani Labour Migrants by PninaWerbner (230-242)
Week 8 / Tuesday 10/08/13 / Religious practices of Islam
(continue)
3. Almsgiving (245-268) / *Reorganizing social welfare among Muslims: Islamic voluntarism and other forms of communal support in Northern Ghana by Holger Weiss (245-256)
Thursday 10/10/13 / Continue….Almsgiving / *Financial worship: the quranic injunction to almsgiving by Jonathan Benthall (257-268)
Week 9 / Tuesday 10/15/13 / Id al-adha
(Feast of Sacrifice Holiday) / NO CLASS / IN THE FIELD:
Participant observance of Gainesville Muslim community celebration for Id al-adha
(Place to be announced)
Thursday 10/17/13 / Methodological reflections on the anthropology of Islam (270-343)
1. situating anthropology / *Toward Islamic anthropology: definition, dogma and directions by Akbar S. Ahmed (279-293)
Week 10 / Tuesday 10/22/13 / Continue… situating anthropology / *Islamic anthropology and anthropology of Islam by Richard Tapper (294-306)
Thursday 10/24/13 / 2. Representing Islam / *Covering Islam: how the media and the experts determine how we see the rest of the world by Edward Said (309-321)
*Islam obscured the rhetoric of anthropological representation by Daniel Varisco (322-343)
Week 11 / Tuesday 10/29/13 / Take home Exam
Thursday 24 – Wednesday 30, due before 8:00am / (No Class)
Thursday 10/31/13 / The Halal life style / The Halal Frontier: Muslim Consumers in a Globalized Market by Johan Fishcher Chapter 1 & 2 (pp. 1-68)
Week 12 / Tuesday 11/5/13 / Continue….The Halal life style / Chapter 3 & 4(pp. 69-107)
Thursday 11/07/13 / Continue….
The Halal life style / Chapter 5 & 6(pp. 108-157)
Conclusion (pp. 160-166)
Week 13 / Tuesday 11/12/13 / Identity faith and dress / Visibly Muslim: fashion, politics, faith, by Emma Tarlo, (2010).
  • Introduction
  • Biographies in dress
  • Geographies of Hijab
  • Navigation of style

Thursday 11/14/13 / Continue…
Identity faith and dress /
  • Diversity contested
  • Covering concerns
  • Hijab on line
  • Islamic fashion scape
+ Video on Turkey Islamic production
Week 14 / Tuesday 11/19/13 / Take home Exam 14 – 20
due Wed. before 8:00am
Oral presentation / Ethnography of a practice of Islam around Gainesville
Thursday 11/21, 2013 / Oral presentation / Ethnography of a practice of Islam around Gainesville
Week 15 / Tuesday 11/26/13 / Oral presentation / Ethnography of a practice of Islam around Gainesville
Thursday 11/28/13 / Thanksgiving holiday / NO CLASS
Week 16 / Tuesday 12/03/13 / Rap up Session
Paper due December 07, 2013 or earlier ELECTRONIC COPY, VIA Sakai

1