| Course Title: Islam in America: From Slavery to the Muslim Ban |
| Start Date: 08/30/2021 End Date: 12/13/2021 |
| Term: Fall Semester 2021 |
| Description: Is Islam an American religion? Muslims in the United States have often been treated with suspicion and their religion viewed as foreign and incompatible with American values. Yet, Islam was present in North America since at least the 1700s in the lives of enslaved Africans. And it was theoretically included in the religions whose free exercise is protected by the First Amendment. This course traces the fraught and complex history of Islam and Muslims in North America, from the loss and preservation of Islamic practices under the regime of slavery through the reclamation of Islamic symbols and identities in African-American movements of the 20th century (e.g., The Moorish Science Temple, The Nation of Islam, and The Five-Percenters) to the rapid growth of a diverse immigrant Muslim community post-1965. Particular attention will be paid to: the intertwining of race, gender, and religion in the self-construction of Muslim identities and the policing of Muslim persons; the depictions of Islam and Muslims in U.S. society and politics; and the use of Islamic themes and symbols in contemporary popular culture, such as hip-hop. |
| Distribution(s): I - Humanities , MP - Multicultural Perspectives |
| Academic Level Of Course: Undergraduate | Credits:4.00 |
| Faculty | Phone | Email address |
| Amina Steinfels | 413-538-2292 | asteinfe@mtholyoke.edu |
| Meeting Dates | Method | Meeting days | Meeting times | Building name | Room | Frequency |
| 08/30/2021 - 12/13/2021 | Seminar | Tuesday and Thursday | 10:00AM - 11:15AM | SHTK - Shattuck Hall | 216 | Weekly |
| Requisite Courses | ||
| None |
| Comments |
| Additional Comments |
| Course Tags | ||
| CST0001 | CSTH: Critical Social Thought major | This course has been approved to count towards the Critical Social Thought major and minor. |
| CST0001 | CSTH: Critical Social Thought minor | This course has been approved to count towards the Critical Social Thought major and minor. |
| Cross-listed Sections |
| RELIG-248-01 Islam in America |
| CST-249SM-01 Islam in America |
| Course Availability | ||||
| Section status: Open | Capacity: 28 | Enrollment: 21 | Available: 7 | Waitlist: 0 |
BOOK INFORMATION
| Book List | Required | Publisher Full Price |
| Title: The Columbia Sourcebook of Muslims in the United States Author: Curtis IV, Edward E. Copyright: 2008 Edition: Volume: ISBN: 9780231139571 Publisher: Columbia University Press |
Required | 35.00 |
| Title: A History of Islam in America: From the New World to the New World Order Author: GhaneaBassiri, Kambiz Copyright: 2010 Edition: Volume: ISBN: 9780521614870 Publisher: Cambridge University Press |
Required | 30.00 |
| Additional Book Comments |
| This is the complete book list for this class. |